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TORIES OF New Jersey 



FRANK R. STOCKTON 







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.^-v. 



NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI:- CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

1896 



Copyright, 1896, bv 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY. 



STO. UK N. J. 

\V. I'. I 



PREFACE. 



This volume of stories, comj^osed of historical inci- 
dents, or material connected with the history of New 
Jersey, is not intended to be a record, even in a con- 
densed form, of the rise and progress of the State., 
The stories are arranged chronologically, but there has 
been no attempt to give a complete and continuous 
account of events or epochs. The material for the 
stories has been collected from many sources ; and the 
selections have been made with regard to the interest, 
the instructiveness, and as far as possible the novelty, 
of the matter chosen. There has been a constant 
endeavor, however, to present a series of historical inci- 
dents in a panoramic form, so that the reading of the 
stories in their regular succession would give an im- 
pressive idea of the discovery and settlement of the 
State, of its people, manners, and customs, and of its 
progress and achievements, as it was gradually evoKed 
from the Indian region of Scheyichbi into the State 
of New Jersey. 

In these stories there is nothing imaginative or fan- 
ciful, except where a reference is made to the early 
3 



imaginings and fancies of the aborigines. The stories 
are not founded on facts, but they are made up of facts 
carefully collected from the authorities referred to in 
the table of contents. Some of the stories are well 
known, but could not be omitted because of their repre- 
sentative character ; but others, it is hoped, will be 
found familiar only to the professed student of history. 
The period of the stories extends from the earliest 
times of Indian tradition down to what may be called 
our own day ; but as there was so much available mat- 
ter, and so little space for it, and as there was no inten- 
tion to give a comprehensive history of the State, it was 
deemed well to deal only with the incidents and people 
that have passed out of the boundaries of current 
history. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Story of the Discovery of Scheyichbi; or, The Aborigines 

of New Jersey. (Period, prior to 1600.) 9 

Authorities : MSS. regarding Indians. Rev. John Heckeuelder. 
" History of New Jersey." T. V. Gordon. 
" History of New Jersey." I. Mulford. 

Thk Story of a Peacemaker. An Indian Woman's Friendly Act. 

(Period, 1632.) 18 

Authority : " History of New York." Brodhead. 

Thk Wjn.ninc; ok ihk Prize; or, The Enghsh Ownership of New 

Jersey. (Period, 1664.) ........ 24 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." I. Mulford. 
" History of New Jersey." .S. Smith. 
" History of New Jersey." T. F. Gordon. 

How Scheyichbi really beca.me New Jersey. (Period, 1609- 

1758-) 3> 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." S. Smith. 
" History of New Jersey." I. Mulford. 
" History of New Jersey." T. F. Gordon. 

Fins, Raitles, and Wings; or. The Wild Animals of Farly Days. 42 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." S. Smith. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
"The Burlington Smiths." R. M. Smith. 

Thk SroRY ok a Girl and a IIoc.shkau. A Story of the Swedish 

Settlers. (Period, prior to 1655.) 51 

Authority : " Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 

5 



The Story of Penelope Stout. (Period, prior to 1669.) . .57 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." S. Smith. 

" History of New Jersey." J. C. Rauni. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 

" Story of an Old Farm." A. C. Mellick. 

The ScHOOL.M.VSTiiK AND THE DocToK. (Period, from 1693.) . 69 

Authorities : " Colonial History of New Jersey. ' Grahame. 
" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 
" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" History of Medicine in New Jersey." S. Wicices. 

The Slaves of New Jersey. (Period, 1 626-1 860.) . . . S^ 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." T. F. Gordon. 

" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 

" Story of an Old Fariir." A. D. Mellick. 

A Jersey Tea Party; or, The Burning uf the Tea at Cohansey. 

(Period, 1774.) . . / 93 

Authorities: " History of New Jersey." I. Mulford. 

" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 

" Story of an Old Kami." A. D. Mellick. 

The .Story of a Spy. (Period, 1758-S0.) 102 

Authority': " Our Home," published in Somerville, N.J., 1873. 

A Man who covcted Washington's Shoes; or, The Story of 

General Charles Lcc. (Period, 1758-85.) . . . • "7 

Authorities : " Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" Story of an Old Farm." A. ^. Mellick. 
" Life of Lord Stirling." W. Duer. 

The Man in the " yVuc.ER Hole." Krom the Journal of Mrs. 

Marfjarct Hill Morris. (Period, 1776-82.) . • '3° 

Authorities: " The BurlinRton Smiths." R. M. Sniiili. 
" History of New Jersey." T. F. Gordon. 



i 



7 

PAGE 

The Story of Two Captains. Captain Huddy and Captain 

Asgill. (Period, 1781.) 141 

Autkorities : " Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 
" Story of an Old Farm." A. D. Mellick. 

The Story of Tempe Wick. (Period, 17S0.) .... 155 

Authorities : " Story of an Old Farm." A. D. Mellick. 

" Morris County History." W. W. Munsey. 
"Authors and Writers Associated with Morris- 
town." J. K. Colles. 

The Story of Fort Nonsense. (Period, 1776-80.) . . .163 

Authorities : " Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 
" Story of an Old Farm." A. D. Mellick. 

An American Lord. Lord Stirling of Basking Ridge. (Period, 

1726-83.) 177 

Authorities : " Life of Lord Stirling." W. Duer. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" Story of an Old Farm." A. D. Mellick. 

Molly Pitcher. (Period, 1778.) 186 

Authorities : " History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 



The Morristown Ghosts. A Story of 1788 193 

Authorities : Pamphlet published in 1792. Anonymous. 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 



A Jerseyman and his Royal Crown. Joseph Bonaparte at 15ur- 

dentown. (Period, 1815-39.) 204 

Authorities : " Encyclopaedia Britannica." 

" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 
" Bordentown and the Bonapartes." J. B. Gilder. 
"Joseph Bonaparte in Bordentown." F. M. 

Crawford. 
" New Jersey Newspaper Clippings." 



8 



PAGE 

The Dey, the Bev, and some Jersey Sailors. The Barbary 

War. (Period, 1800-4.) . . . . . . . .214 

Authorities : " History of the United States Navy." J. F. 
Cooper. 
" Historical Collections." Barber and Howe. 

Sea Fights with a Nobler P"oe. The War of 181 2 . . . 230 

Authorities : " History of the United States Navy." J. F. 
Cooper. 
" Field Book of the Revolution." B. J. Lossing. 

The Story of the Telegraph and the Ste^vmboat. (Period, 

1787-1838.) 239 

Authorities : " Appletons' Dictionary." 

" New Jersey Newspaper Clippings." 

"American Inventors of the Telegraph." F. L. 

Pope. 
" History of New Jersey." J. C. Raum. 

New Jersey and the Land oe Gold. The Conquest of Califor- 
nia. (Period, 1816-66.) 246 

Authorities : " Appletons* Dictionary." 

" Biographical Encyclopaedia of New Jersey." 



STORIES OF NEW JERSEY. 

THE STORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF 
SCHEYICHRI. 




a^4 »^l»i 'I M-i 



THE North American Indians, the earliest inhabit- 
ants of this country of whom we know anything 
definite, were great story-tellers ; and their histories 
consist entirely of stories handed down from parents 
to children, or, more likely, from grandparents to 
grandchildren, for grandfathers and grandmothers arc 



generally more willing to tell stories than fathers or 
mothers. And so these traditions, probably a good 
deal brightened by being passed along century after 
century, came down to the Indians who were first 
met by white people, and thus we have heard many 
of them. 

The stories told by the Indians inhabiting the 
country which is now the Middle States, all agree 
that their remote forefathers came from some region 
beyond the Mississippi River. Like the traditions of 
most nations, these go so very far back that they are 
vague and misty ; but, as this gave the Indians a great 
opportunity for their imaginations, it is not wonderful 
that they improved it. These Indians believed that 
in the very earliest stages of their existence they were 
all animals, and lived in caves under the earth. They 
were hunters ; but their game consisted of mice, and 
creatures of that sort. One of them accidentally dis- 
covered a hole by which he got out on the surface 
of the ground; and, finding it so exceedingly pleasant, 
it was not long before the whole of his tribe came 
out, and began life in the light of day. 

It may be supposed that these animals gradually 
changed to human beings, and built villages, and 
planted corn ; but in one respect they did not change, 
nor have they changed at this present day. Many of 
them still call themselves after the names of animals; 
and now the greater part of the noted Indians of our 
country have such names as " Sitting Bull," " Black 
Bear," and "Red Horse." But the stories say that 
all of the animals did not come out of their under- 



ground homes. Among these were the hedgehog and 
the rabbit; and so some of the tribes will not eat 
these animals, because in so doing they may be eat- 
ing their family connections. 

Gradually the ancestors of the Indians who told 
their stories to the first settlers, and who afterwards 
called themselves the Lenni-Lenape, moved eastward, 
and after many years they reached the Mississippi 
River. By this time they had become a powerful 
body. But in the course of their journeys they dis- 
covered that they were not the earliest emigrants in 
this direction, for they met with a great tribe called 
the Mengwe, later known as the Iroquois, who had 
come from a country west of the Mississippi, but 
farther north than that of our Indians. 

We do not hear that these two great tribes of early 
Indians interfered with each other ; but when the 
Lenni-Lenape investigated the other side of the Missis- 
sippi, they found there still another nation, powerful, 
numerous, and warlike. These were called the Alli- 
gewi, from which we have derived the name Alle- 
gheny. At first the latter tribe was inclined to allow 
the Lenape to pass the river; but after a time, finding 
that the newcomers were so numerous, they fell upon 
them and drove them back. 

But the Indians at that remote period must have 
been as doggedly determined to move eastward as are 
our pioneers to move westward ; and they were not to 
be stopped by rivers, mountains, or savage enemies. 
The Lenape were not strong enough to fight the 
AUigewi by themselves, and so they formed an alii- 



12 

ance with the Mengwe ; and these two nations to- 
gether made war upon the Alligewi, and in the course 
of time overcame them, and drove them entirely from 
their country. 

After years, or perhaps centuries (for there are no 
definite statements of time in these Indian traditions), 
the Mengwe and the Lenape, who had been living 
together in the country of the Alligewi, separated ; 
and the Mengwe emigrated to the lands near the 
Great Lakes, while the Lenape slowly continued their 
progress eastward. 

They crossed the Alleghanies, and discovered a 
great river, which they called Susquehanna, and then 
they moved on until they came to the Delaware. 
This grand stream pleased them so much, that they 
gave it a name of honor, and called it the Lenape- 
wihittuck, or "The River of the Lenape." Then they 
crossed the river and discovered New Jersey. 

Here they found a pleasant climate, plenty of 
game, and no human inhabitants whatever. They 
therefore approj^riated it as their own, and gave it 
the name of Scheyichbi; and any one who endeav- 
ors to pronounce this name will be likely to feel 
glad that it was afterwards changed by the white 
settlers. 

Before this first discovery of New Jersey, the Lenni- 
Lenape had .settled themselves in the beautiful and 
fertile country about the Susquehanna and the west 
shore of the Delaware, and here established their 
right to their name, which signifies "original people;" 
and if their stories are correct, they certainly are the 



13 

original inhabitants of this region, and they discovered 
New Jersey from the west, and took rightful posses- 
sion of it. 

It is a law of nations, founded then upon the same 
principles of justice as it stands upon now, that dis- 
covery by a nation, or the agent of a nation, of un- 
known lands entirely uninhabited, gives the discoverers 
the right to those lands; and, in accordance with that 
law, the Lenape became the discoverers and original 
owners of New Jersey. 

We will not now allude to the rights they then ac- 
quired to the country which is now Pennsylvania and 
other States, because we are confining ourselves to 
what relates to the country of Scheyichbi, the land 
where their eastward migrations ceased. Now, they 
could go no farther towards the rising sun, and they 
were satisfied to stop. 

These Lenape, or " Grandfather Tribe " as they 
were often called, were not merely cruel and ignorant 
savages: they had many admirable traits of character, 
and some of their manners and customs might well 
have been imitated by those who found them here. 

They had an admirable system of government ; and 
at regularly appointed periods their wisest men met 
at the great "Council House" to make laws, and ar- 
range the affairs of the nation. Their conduct in their 
councils was far more decorous and becoming than 
that we often hear of among legislators of the present 
day, whether they are met together in Congress, Par- 
liament, or Reichstag. These chiefs, chosen for their 
wisdom and experience, treated each other with the 



14 

highest regard and respect. When one of them arose 
to address his fellow-legislators, every man in the 
council room paid the strictest attention to what he 
said ; and interruptions, jeers, and ridicule, such as 
legislators often make use of at the present day, w^ere 
totally unknown among these grave and earnest 
Indians. 

There can be no doubt that the Lenape were su- 
perior to other Indian nations, and worthy of the proud 
title which they gave themselves ; and in later years, 
when the river was named after Lord De la W'arre, 
and they were called the Delawares, they were con- 
sidered the noblest of the Indian tribes. 

I dwell upon the good qualities and high character 
of the Lenape, because it was from their main body 
that numerous tribes came across the Delaware River, 
and became the first Jerseymen, or, if any one likes 
it better, Scheyichbians. .They settled in many i)leas- 
aiit places, building wigwam villages, many of which 
have since grown into modern towns, and still bear 
their okl Indian names. In fact, the modern Jersey- 
man has had the good sense to preserve a great many 
of the names given to livers, mountains, and villages 
by the first owners of the soil. 

But, after all, Scheyichbi was not sufficiently dis- 
covered and settled for the purposes of civilization, 
and its fertile soil waited long for the footsteps of the 
new immigrants. These came at last from the east. 

About the end of the fifteenth century there was 
a strojig desire among the maritime nations of Kurope 
to nnd a ^hoit jjassage to China and the ICast Indies. 



15 



It was for that reason that Columbus set out on his 
expedition ; but with his story we have nothing to do, 
for he did not discover the continent of North Amer- 
ica, and in fact never saw it. But after John Cabot 
and his son Sebastian, then looking for a passage to 
Cathay in the interest of the King of England, 
made a voyage to North America, 
and had contented themselves 
with discovering New- 
foundland, Sebastian 
came back again, 
and accomplished a " , ' 

great deal more. He ' - ■■■ 

sailed along the coast 
from Labrador to the 
southern end of Florida, 
and in the course of this 
voyage discovered New Jer- 
sey. He made a map of the 
whole coast, and claimed all the 
country back of it for the King 
of P>ngland. 

There is no proof that Cabot 
knew whether this country had 
inhabitants or not. He saw it 

from his ships ; but he did not make any attempt to 
settle it, and thus establish a legal right to the soil. He 
simply declared it the property of the Crown of l-.ng- 
land, and it is upon this claim that luigland afterward 
based her right to the eastern coast of North America. 

And so New Jersey was discovered from the east. 






i6 

About a quarter of a century after Sebastian Cabot's 
voyage, the French took up the idea that they would 
like to discover something, and Francis I. sent an Ital- 
ian mariner, named John Verrazano, across the Atlan- 
tic Ocean. 

After having sailed far enough, John Verrazano dis- 
covered the coast of North America, which he called 
" a new land never before seen by any man, ancient 
or modern." He took possession of it in the name 
of his king, and, in order to settle the matter, called 
the whole coast New France. There is reason to be- 
lieve that Verrazano discovered the southern part of 
New Jersey, for in sailing northward he probably 
entered Delaware Bay. 

But it appears that New Jersey was not yet suffi- 
ciently discovered, and after having been left for a 
long time in the possession of its true owners, the 
Lenni-Lenape, it was again visited by Europeans. In 
1609 the celebrated Henry Hudson, then in the serv- 
ice of the Dutch East India Company, started west- 
ward to try to find a northwest passage to China. In 
those bygone days, whenever a European explorer set 
out to find an easy passage to the East, he was very 
a])t to discover New Jersey ; and this is what hap- 
])cncd to Henry Hudson. He first discovered it on 
the south, and partially explored Delaware Bay ; then 
he sailed up the coast and entered New York Bay, 
and sailed some distance up the river which now bears 
his name. 

Hudson did more for New Jersey than any of the 
other discoverers, for his men were the first Europeans 



17 

who ever set foot upon its soil. Some of them landed 
in the vicinity of Bergen Point, and were met in a 
friendly way by a great many of the original inhab- 
itants. But the fact that he found here possessors of 
the soil made no difference to Hudson : he claimed the 
country for the Dutch. Five years afterwards, that 
nation made a settlement at New York, and claiming 
the whole of the surrounding country, including New 
Jersey, gave it the name of New Netherland. 

Thus was New Jersey discovered on the north ; and 
after the efforts of four nations, — the Indians first, 
the English under Cabot, the French, and the Dutch 
(for Hudson was now in the service of that nation), — 
it may be said to have been entirely discovered. 










THE STORY OF A PEACEMAKER. 

AFTER the outside boundaries of New Jersey had 
been pretty thoroughly discovered, it was quite 
natural that some nations who laid claim to the State 
should desire to find out something in regard to its 
interior, and make settlements upon its soil. 

This was not done by the English, who had made 
the first claim to the land, but by the Dutch. In the 
early part of the seventeenth century, the West India 
Company of Holland sent out a ship containing the 
foundation for a little colony, — men, provisions, and all 
things necessary. They sailed into Delaware Bay ; and 
the commander, Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, gave his name 
to Cape May. The expedition went up the Delaware 
River till they reached Timber Creek, probably not 
much more than ten miles from the spot where Phila- 
deljihia now stands. There they settled, and built a 
fort, which they called Fort Nassau. But this was not 
looked upon with favor by the Indians, and it was not 
long before the whole colony was destroyed. 

This unfortunate beginning of the white settlement 
of New Jersey did not deter the Dutch, who are a per- 
severing and dogged people. About twelve years later, 
another Dutch commander, De Vries, sailed up the 
18 



19 

Delaware River, or, as the Dutch called it, the South 
River ; his main object being to catch whales, very 
different from the Delaware fisheries of the present 
day. He set up a little colony on shore ; but it appears 
that the Indians were very much opposed to this 
sort of thing, and this settlement was destroyed 
before long. 

But De Vries still kept up the whaling busi- 
ness ; and in the course of time, getting out 
of provisions, he left his vessel, and sailed up 
the river in a small craft which was called the 
"Squirrel." He went up as far as the deserted 
Fort Nassau, and there anchored to trade with 
the Indians. 

It is quite plain that the Indians of New Jersey 
were now greatly concerned about the visits of 
white people to their shore ; for they perceived 
that these newcomers were inclined to settle and 
occupy such places as pleased their fancy, with- 
out asking permission, or proposing to buy or 
to pay rent. All this was very disagreeable to 
the red men, who had never shown any dispo- 
sition to open up their country to foreign immi- 
gration. 

When Dc Vries anchored, he wms very well 
received ; and about forty Indians came on board his 
yacht, and made a call upon him. They were dressed 
in their best, and, in order to make the visit more 
agreeable, they brought some of their musical instru- 
ments with them, and gave the Dutchmen a taste of 
Indian music. 





20 



The dress of some of these visitors was a surprise to 
De Vries and his men, of whom there were only seven 
on the yacht. It was winter time, and most of the 
Indians were arrayed in furs, but several of them wore 
jackets made in the English fashion. The visitors were 
very friendly, and urged De Vries to sail his vessel up 
a .stream, now known as Big Timber Creek, which, 
they declared, was a much better place for trading. 
Now, according to some of the old histories, a woman 
appeared in the double character of 
peacemaker and guardian angel. 

Among the Lenni-Lenape, as well 
as the other tribes of North America, 
women often had a peculiar part to 
play in national and social affairs. If 
ever the services of a peacemaker were 
desired, that position was always given 
to a woman. It was considered deroga- 
tory to the dignity of a male Indian that he should at 
any time, of his own accord, desire jicace. lie and his 
enemy might both be thoroughly tired of fighting; but 
neither of them would lower himself in his own esti- 
mation, and in the estimation of his countrymen, by 
allowing any man to know the state of his mind. 

Hut he did not in the least object to tell his wife that 
he wanteil to stop fighting; and she, very gladly in 
most cases, would confer with the wife of the other 
brave; and when they had concluded peace, the two 
men would innnediately sit down together, smoke the 
calumet, and be good friends; and all this without the 
slightest loss of dignity. 




Indian Tam-tam. 



21 

This method of makiiif^ peace was pursued not only by 
individuals, but by nations. Very often women had this 
imi)ortant political duty thrust upon them, — a duty for 
which they were ))robably very well qualified, for it is 
seldom that the women of a nation desire war. 

This national disposition in regard to peacemaking 
was once the occasion of a serious misfortune to the 
tribe of Lenni-Lenape. The tribes to the north, who 
had formed themselves into a powerful body called the 
Five Nations, had long been jealous of their neighbors 
the Lenni-Lenape, and contrived a plan to humiliate 
them, and render them less important in the eyes of the 
Indian \vorld. Being at war with some other tribes, 
these Five Nations came to the Lenni-Lenaj)e and pre- 
tended to desire peace, but stated that this was too 
important a case to be managed by women. They 
declared that this was a great wH)rk, which should be 
given only into the hands of a ciuiet, dignified, and 
honorable tribe, such as their great neighboi's, and 
urged the Lenape to undertake negotiations for the 
cessation of hostilities. 

As all this seemed reasonable enough, the Lenape 
were at last persuaded to become peacemakers, and, 
as might be supposed, they were entirely successful ; 
but they suffered for their kindness and good feeling. 
Ever afterwards they were looked upon by other Indian 
tribes as no better than women. In Cooper's novels 
there are references to the fact that the noble Lenajie 
were sneered at as peacemakers and squaws. 

But we will now return to our guardian angel. It 
was after a visit of the Indians to the vessel of De 



1 I \ 



I 



Vries, that the peacemaking instinct took possession of 
the wife of one of the Indian chiefs; and quietly and 
stealthily, unperceivcd by her people, she managed to 
get on board the " Squirrel," when she informed the 
commander of the real object of his visitors, who had 
invited him to sail up Timber Creek. It was 
the desire of the Indians to destroy this 
company of white men ; and the narrow 
stream where they wished to make the 
?^^ Jl^ attempt was much better adapted for 
^ ^''**'- their purpose than the broad waters 
of the river. 

Wishing to prevent an encounter in 
which the sturdy Dutch- 
men would probably kill 
some of her coun- 
trymen before they 
themselves were de- 
stroyed, she had 
come to implore the 
whites not to run 
into the trap which had been set for them. She told 
them that the crew of an English shallop, which not 
long before had come to visit the place, probably from 
a ship afraid to venture higher up the river, had all 
been slaughtered, and that it was the jackets of these 
men that some of her countrymen were wearing. 

Like a sensible man, De Vries paid attention to this 
story, and did not venture into Timber Creek. Whether 
or not he rewarded the good woman who came to warn 
him of his dnimer, is not known; Init his account of 




m^^"^ 




the affair places her in the position of one worthy of a 
monument by the women of the State. 

When the Indians came again to De Vries, he de- 
clared to them that his Great Spirit, or " Maneto," had 
revealed their wdcked purposes, and that he \vould not 
sail up the Timber Creek, nor would he allow one of 
them upon his vessel ; and, having ordered them all 
on shore, he dropped some distance down the river. 

This conduct doubtless inspired the Indians with 
great respect for the brave Dutchmen, and shortly 
afterwards the chiefs from nine different tribes came 
on board the "Squirrel" for the purpose of making a 
treaty of peace and commerce with the Dutch. All of 
these were now dressed in furs, which were their ordi- 
nary garments; but some of them were recognized as 
the same men who had formerly worn the jackets of 
the murdered English sailors. These, however, were 
just as cordial and friendly as any of the others, and 
there is no reason to suppose that they now intended 
treachery. The visitors sat down on the deck of the 
yacht, and held a regular council, and, with appro- 
priate ceremonies, made presents of beaver skins to the 
whites, and solemnly concluded a treaty of friendship. 




THE WINNING OF THE PRIZE. 

AFTER the importance of the discovery of North 
America came to be properly appreciated by 
the nations of Europe, the ownership was looked 
upon as a great national prize, and there were sev- 
eral nations who were anxious to play for it. This 
country, so readily approached by the Delaware, be- 
came attractive not only to kings and sovereigns, but 
to settlers and immigrants. Gustavus Adolphus of 
Sweden granted a charter to a company called the 
West India Company, which was formed for the pur- 
pose of making settlements on the shores of the 
Delaware Bay and River, and commissioned them to 
take possession of this country, without tlic slightest 
regard to what the luiglish sovereign and the Dutch 
sovereign had granted to their subjects. 

The Swedes came to Delaware Bay. They stopped 
for a while at Cape Hcnlopen ; and then, of course, 
they sailed up the Delaware, when things soon began 
to be very disagreeable between themselves and the 
Dutch, who were there before theni. 

The Swedes were a warlike set of people, and they 
held their ground very well. Besides making some 
settlements, they built a fort which they called Elsin- 
24 



25 



burgh ; and, if a Dutch ship happened to pass by 
that fort, it wa^ obliged to strike its flag in token of 
submission to a superior power. The Indians, who 
were perhaps as much opposed to I the Swedish set- 
tlement as they had been to those v_, 
of other nations, do not 
appear to have been able 
to attack this fort with 
any success ; and as 
for the Dutch, it is 
not certain that they 
even attempted it. So 
the Swedes at that 
time governed the 
passage up and down 
the Delaware, as the ^- 
English now govern 
the passage through 
the Straits of Gibraltar. 
It was probably win- 
ter time or cool weather 
when the Swedes built 
their proud fort on the banks 
of that river which they now 
named " New Swedeland Stream ; " 

but when the warm and pleasant days came on, and it 
was easy to travel from the interior to the river shore, 
and when the weather was so mild that it was quite 
possible to spend the nights in the woods without injury, 
there came an enemy to Fort Elsinburgh which proved 
far more formidable than the Indians or Dutch. 




26 

The fcrt was surrounded ; and frequent and violent 
attacks were made upon it, especially in the night, 
when it was almost impossible for the garrison to de- 
fend themselves. Many bloody single combats took 
place in which the enemy generally fell, for in bodily 
prowess a Swede was always superior to any one of 
the attacking force. But no matter how many assail- 
ants were killed, the main body seemed as powerful 
and determined as ever. In course of time the 
Valiant Swedes were obliged to give way before their 
enemy. They struck their flag, evacuated the fort, 
and departed entirely from the place where they had 
hoped a flourishing settlement would spring up under 
the protection of their fort. 

The enemy which attacked and routed the Swedes 
was a large and invincible army of mosquitoes, against 
whom their guns, their pistols, th'eir swords, their spears, 
and their ramparts afforded -V.'- them no defense. 
After that, the deserted \ /SX'-l"- ^^^^ ^^'^^ known as 
Mygcnborg, mcani\if\"\x'^^^^,'.Mosquito Fort. 
^; The Dutch lookccD r^^l^^p^^"^^ great disfavor 
/^on the Swede:-, f' ^^<^>>^« !J who tcnitinued to estab- 



^iish themselves ^^T^;;^" 'A^^^^ at various points ; and 

t;^^ although t^,^y^r^'^^ y *^ ^^^ ^^^ make an alliance 

\y^ ,t. ''^^J^'if' ^ '^^ ' ^^^^h ^^^ ^ody of natives 

F^-i^'J.^;;^^^'^. '^/)f f who had driven these north- 

%^' jSt "^- "^^^l^^ ^^" people away from Elsin- 

n^ ^£v^/5^' / /%^ burgh, — for a compact of that 

^ ^iV \ ^^"*^ Vv'ould be dangerous in many 

^•'' JW^' ways, — they took up the matter by 



/^" themselves; and finally the Dutch, 




27 

under their valiant Peter Stuyvcsant, completely con- 
quered the Swedes, and sent their leaders to Holland, 
while the ordinary settlers submitted to the Dutch. 

But this state of things did not continue very 
long ; for the English, who, although they had not 
yet settled in New Jersey, had never given up their 
pretensions as the original discoverers, came in strong 
force, subdued the Dutch, occupied their principal 
town, New Amsterdam, and took possession of the 
country, including New Jersey. 

But it seemed to be a good deal easier to discover 
New Jersey than finally to settle its ownership. Now 
that the Dutch and the Swedes were disposed of, 
there arose difficulties regarding the English claims 
to the State. Early in the seventeenth century. 
Queen Elizabeth had granted an immense tract of 
land to Sir Walter Raleigh, which was called Vir- 
ginia, and that included the whole of New Jersey. 
Afterwards Charles II. granted to his brother, the 
Duke of York, an immense tract of land, which also 
included New Jersey, and which was called New 
York. So what is now New Jersey was then at the 
same time both Virginia and New York. 

The Duke of York, who then owned New Jersey, 
leased the whole State — lands, forests, rivers, wig- 
wams, Indians, fisheries, Dutch settlers, Swedish set- 
tlers, everything — to John Berkeley (Baron of Strat- 
ton) and Sir George Carteret for the sum of twenty 
nobles per year (thirty-two dollars of our money). 
Some authorities, indeed, state that the sum paid was 
much smaller. 



28 

After a time, however, the claims of Virginia were 
withdrawn ; and not only did Berkeley and Carteret 
enjoy undisturbed possession of the State, but they 
gave it a name, and called it Nova Cccsaria, or New 
Jersey, its name being given on account of Carteret's 
connection with the Isle of Jersey. The Latin name 
was used for a time ; but the settlers preferred Eng- 
lish, and so the name now stands. New Jersey was 
soon afterwards divided into two provinces, — East 
Jersey and West Jersey. The accompanying map 
shows the line of division between the two provinces, 
which was made in 1676. It ran from the southern 
end of what is now Long Beach, in Little Egg Harbor, 
to a point on the Delaware River. Two other lines 
of partition were afterwards made, both starting from 
the same point on the seacoast ; one running some- 
what to the west, and the other to the east, of the 
original line. 

After some changes in the proj^rietorship of the 
Colony, West Jersey came into the possession of twelve 
men, one of whom was the celebrated William Penn, 
whose connection with West Jersey began si.\ years 
before he had anything to do with Pennsylvania. 

Penn and liis colleagues gave West Jersey a purely 
democratic government, founded ujkui principles of 
justice and charity, in which the peojile themselves 
ruled. Full freedom in regard to religious views was 
insured; trial by jury was granted; and punishments 
were made as lenient as possible, with a view to the 
prevention of tiiincs ratluT than the infliction of i)cnal- 
ties. The result ol this was tiiat lor a long time 




OP MILE » 

5 10 15 'iO 35 30 



29 



30 

there were no serious crimes in this Province, and the 
country was rapidly settled by thrifty Quakers anxious 
to live where they would have liberty of conscience. 

In the course of time, East Jersey also came into 
the possession of Penn and his eleven associates, and 
the number of proprietors was increased to twenty- 
four. At the end of the century the two provinces 
were united into one, and shortly afterwards they 
passed into the possession of the Crown of P2nL,dand, 
and became subject to the ordinary British laws. For 
a long time afterwards, however, the State was known 
as the "Jerseys." 




HOW SCHEYICHBI REALLY BECAME NEW 
JERSEY. 




A POINT in the history of New Jersey, more im- 
portant in a moral point of view than that of 
its European ownership, was that of the purchase of 
the lands from the first and true owners, the Indians. 
As has been said, Berkeley and 'Carteret issued an 
injunction that the settlers should purchase their lands 
from the tribes which had lived upon them. This 
31 



32 

system was subsequently carried out until every foot 
of the land of the whole State was bought and paid 
for, — the first transactions of the kind, having taken 
place several years before Penn's treaty with the 
Indians in Pennsylvania. 

Up to the time when the country finally passed 
into the hands of the English, the Indians had re- 
sisted the attempts of the whites to settle among them; 
but now, finding that they were to be fairly dealt 
with, a better feeling arose, and the red men were 
content to dwell with the whites as friends and neigh- 
bors. Of course, all the settlers did not promptly pay 
for their lands, and there were some minor disputes' 
from this cause ; but in general the whites regularly 
purchased the land upon which they intended to make 
their homes, and in time all were obliged to do so. 
As may be supposed, very large prices were not paid 
for these lands ; but the transactions were strictly 
honorable, because the parties on each side gave what 
they had, and all were satisfied with what they got. 

The payments for land frequently consisted partly 
of ready-made coats, kettles, and in some cases of jevv's- 
harps. Tracts of land large enough for a town were 
sometimes sold for a barrel of cider. Now, this might 
ajjpear rather a hard bargain for the Indians; but it 
must be considered that they had more land than they 
wanted, and no ready-made coats, or kettles, or jew's- 
harps, or cider. 

But it was not to be expected that the Indians 
would always be satisfied with their treatment ; and 
in fact they had a good many grievances. As has 



33 

been said, a settler sometimes established himself (m 
a good piece of land without consulting the Indians 
of the neighborhood, or offering them payment, and 
in such cases there would be remonstrances from the 
red men. Then, again, the whites could not always 
understand the nature of Indian bargains. A man 
would buy a piece of land, and think that he owned 
not only the ground, but all that grew upon it, all 
that flew in the air above it, and everything that 
swam in its waters ; and when the Indians, after 
having received payment for the farm, came there 
to hunt and fish, and strip the bark off the trees, 
the purchaser was apt to object. 

A notable difficulty of this kind occurred on Sandy 
Hook, where a man named Hartshorne had bought a 
tract of land from the Indians, and afterwards found, 
that, according to their ideas, he had no exclusive 
right to the fish, game, and timber of his new jun- 
chase ; and he was especially made to understand 
that he had not bought the wild plums. This matter 
of the ownership of the plums afterwards became a 
source of considerable trouble, antl was settled by 
Hartshorne paying to the chief of the neighboring 
tribe the sum of thirteen shillings, by which he ac- 
quired the entire right to the plums and all the otlier 
things on his land. 

The Indians hatl also a grievance of a different 
kind. There was a conference held in Burlington, 
between the Indians and the whites, in 1678, which 
was convened on account of a complaint by the Indi- 
ans that the English, in selling them some ready- 

STO. OF .N.J. ] 



34 

made coats, had also sold them the smallpox. The 
temper of the Indians may be shown by one of their 
speeches on this occasion. A leading chief declared: 
" We are willing to have a broad path for you and 
us to walk in ; and if an Indian is asleep in this 
path, the Englishman shall pass by him and do him 
no harm ; and if an Englishman is asleep in the 
path, the Indian shall pass him by and say, 'He is 
an Englishman ; he is asleep ; let him alone ; he 
loves to sleep ! ' It shall be a plain path. There 
must not be in this path a stimip to hurt our feet. 
And as for the smallpo.x, it was once in my grand- 
father's time, and it could not be the English that 
could send it to us then, there being no English in 
the country. And it was once in my father's time, 
they could not send it to us then, neither. And now it 
is in my time, I do not believe that they have sent it 
to us now. I do believe it is the man above who has 
sent it to us." Soon after this, the two })arties ex- 
changed presents, and went away satisfied. 

For many years after this, there seem to have 
been few or no troubles between the Indians and the 
settlers of New Jersey. But matters changed about 
the middle of the next century; and when the Indian 
wars began in Pennsylvania, the red men of New 
Jersey showed symptoms of hostility to the whites. 
Matters grew worse and worse; and the Indians be- 
gan to murder families, burn buildings, and carry 
away ]irisoners. 

This state of affairs grew so alarming that the Legis- 
lature took the matter in hand. They appointed com- 



35 

missioners to examine into the treatment of the Indians, 
and see if there were any good cause for their sudden 
enmity ; and, after a conference with some of the 
chiefs, a bill was passed by the Legislature to put an 
end to a good many of the impositions of which the 
Indians complained. Among these was a habit of the 
whites of giving the Indians spirits, and then making 
bargains with them when they were not at all in a 
condition to do business of that kind. The Indians 
also complained of the practice of trapping deer, thus 
decreasing the game in the forests, and the occupa- 
tion of land, without payment, by the settlers v\-ho were 
continually coming into the country. 

Another bill was passed appropriating ;£ 1600 to 
buy from the Indians the entire right to all the lands 
which they yet held in New Jersey. But as there was 
no desire to banish the Indians from their native land, 
one half of this sum was reserved as payment for a 
large tract of land, or reservation, which should be 
their home, and on which no white man would have 
any right to settle, whether he was willing to buy the 
land or not. When this had been done, it was neces- 
sary to submit the matter to the Indians ; and a coun- 
cil was called at Burlington, at which were present 
the governor of the Province, and some of the most 
prominent Indian chiefs. 

At this conference there was a notable exhibition 
of Indian etiquette. The governor had called the Mini- 
sinks, a tribe of the Delawares, to meet him ; and 
they had informed the Mingoians, who, with some 
other northern tribes, were then gathered together at 



36 

the grand council fire at the forks of the Delaware, 
where is now Easton. This was done, because at that 
time the Mingoians considered themselves superior to 
the Delawares, from whom proper respect was due. 

One of the chiefs from the council fire was sent 
down to represent the Mingoians. After some speeches 
were made, he told the white governor that the Mini- 
sinks, being Delawares, were women, and were not 
able of themselves to make treaties, therefore he had 
come down to look into the matter. As his people 
were then holding a grand council fire at the forks 
of the Delaware, they did not wish to put it out and 
build another council fire on this side of the Delaware. 
The reason which he gave for this was figurative and 
Indian-like. 

He stated that the river roared and thundered, and 
made a great deal of noise; and, it' the council were 
held on this side, the distant Indian nations who dwelt 
to the west of the Delaware couUl not hear wliat was 
said at the council, and therefore it would be unfair 
to them to hold it on this side of the ri\er. He con- 
cluded with a cordial invitation to the governor and his 
party to meet the Indians at their own council fire. 

About a month afterward, the governor, with some 
members of the Legislature, and other white people 
from New Jersey ami Pennsylvania, met over five 
hundred Indians at the folks of the Delawaie in 
grand council. Some of the s])eeches on this i)ccasion 
were very interesting. A chief of the I'nited Nations, 
speaking for the Delawares, who, having made them- 
selves w(jmen by becoming peacemakers, had no right 



37 

to speak for themselves, addressed the eouncil as fol- 
lows : — 

" Brethren, we now remove the hatchet out of your 
heads, that was struck into it by our cousins the Dela- 
wares. It was a French hatchet they unfortunately 
made use of, by the instigation of the French. We 
take it out of your heads, and bury it underground, 
where it shall always rest, and never be taken up again. 
Our cousins the Delawares have assured us they will 
never think of war against their brethren the English 
any more, but will employ their thoughts about peace 
and cultivating friendship with them, and never suffer 
enmity against them to enter into their minds again." 

Another chief said : " Brethren, I speak in behalf 
of the younger nations, — those who are confederated 
with the Six Nations, the Cayugas, Oneidas, Tusca- 
roras, Tutaloes, Nanticokes, and Conoys. A road has 
been made from our country to this council fire, that 
we might treat about friendship ; and as we came down 
the road, we saw, that, by some misfortune or other, 
blood has lately been spilt on it. Now, we make the 
road wider and clearer. We take the blood awav out 
of it, and likewise out of the council chamber, which 
may have been stained. We wash it all away, and 
desire it may not be seen any more, and we take the 
hatchet out of your heads." 

The governor of New Jersey also addressed this 
council, particularly urging them to recpiire the Indi- 
ans who had taken away prisoners to return these 
unfortunate people to their homes. In answer to this, 
one of the g:reat chiefs of the United Nations made a 



38 

speech to the Minisinks and the Delawares, in which 
he gave them a good scolding for not having returned 
these prisoners before ; for it seemed that they had 
promised to do so. 

The council continued several days ; and the Mini- 
sinks promised faithfully that they would search all 
the towns in their territory for prisoners, and return 
them to their own people. This matter having been 
settled, Governor Bernard made a formal proposition 
to buy all the lands which the Indians still retained 
in New Jersey; and, after a good deal* of consultation, 
the chiefs of the United Nations advised the Mini- 
sinks and Delawares to accept the terms which were 
offered. After much talk, it was done, the necessary 
papers were signed, and the State of New Jersey was 
formally bought from its Indian owners. 

After this great matter had been settled, the tract 
of land which was to be set apart for the occupation 
of the Indians of the State, south of the Raritan River, 
in Burlington County, was purchased. It consisted of 
three thousand acres, which reached to the seacoast. 
There was plenty of fishing on it, and there were wild 
lands and forests, in which game abounded. Here 
the Indians could live as they pleased after their old- 
fashioned fashions, and never need fear disturbance 
by white men. Here they removed, and here they 
did live, apparently perfectly satisfied; and after this 
there were no further Indian troubles in New Jersey. 

The Indians on this reservation came to be known 
as the Edge-Pillocks, and in course of time consider- 
able civilization crept in among them. It is a proof 



39 

of this, that one of them, who took the name of Stephen 
Calvin, kept a school, and that his son Bartholomew 
went to Princeton College, and afterwards taught 
school. It is said that in his school there were as 
many white scholars as Indians. 

In 1801 these Edge-Pillock Indians were invited by 
the Mohicans of New York to leave their New Jer- 
sey home and come and live with them. In their 
invitation the Mohicans said they would like them 
"to pack up your mat and come and eat out of our 
dish, which is large enough for all, and our necks are 
stretched in looking toward the fireside of our grand- 
father till they are as long as cranes." 

The Edge-Pillocks sold their reservation, had the 
money invested for them in United States stocks, and 
went to join the Mohicans. After that, both tribes de- 
cided to buy land in Michigan, and the Edge-Pillocks 
disposed of their stocks to pay for their share. 

But our New Jersey Indians did not fare well in 
the West. Their fortunes did not prosper, and they 
grew poorer and poorer, until in 1832 their numbers 
decreased to about forty. Feeling the pressure of 
poverty, their Indian disposition suggested to them a 
remedy. They remembered, that, although they had 
sold their reservation, nothing had been said in the 
deeds concerning the game and the fish on the prop- 
erty ; and they chose to consider that these still be- 
longed to them. They therefore sent Bartholomew 
Calvin, who was now their oldest chief, to New Jersey 
to ask the Legislature to buy these remaining rights. 
The Legislature promptly agreed to do this, and ap- 



40 

propriated two thousand dollars, which was the sum 
Bartholomew named, to buy of the Indians all their 
remaining rights of every kind in New Jersey. 

This act may be considered as one of kindness and 
charity to the former owners of the land, rather than 
as an act of justice, because there is no doubt, that 
when the Indians sold the reservation, and invested 
the ])roceeds, they intended to sell every deer, fish, 
bird; and mosquito on the whole tract. But it is an 
honor to the Legislature of that day that it was will- 
ing to make hapi)y the last days of the New Jersey 
Indians by this act. That the Indians appreciated 
what had been done, may be seen from the following 
extract from a letter from Bartholomew Calvin: — 

"Upon this parting occasion I feel it to be an incumbent duty 
to bear the feeble tribute of my praise to the high-toned justice 
of tliis State in dealing with the aboriginal inhabitants. Not a 
chop of our blood have you spilled in battle, not an acre of our lantl 
have you taken but by our consent. These facts speak for them- 
selves, and need no comment. They place the character of New 
Jersey in bold relief, — a bright example to those States within 
whose territorial limits our brethren still remain. Nothing save 
benisons can fall upon her trom tlie lips of a Lenni-Lcnape." 

l^ut the love of their old home did not die out en- 
tirely in the hearts of all the Edge-Pillock Indians, 
who emigrated, first to New York, and then to 
Michigan. There was one Indian bra\-e ami his scpiaw, 
who, after living at Oneida for some time, began to 
long again for the old hunting ground in New Jersey; 
and, before the rest of their tribe went West, these 
two came back to Burlington County, and established 
themselves in a little house near IMoiuit Ilolh-. Here 



41 



these two Indians lived for about twenty years; and 
when they died, they left a daughter, a tall powerful 
woman, known in the neighborhood as " Indian Ann," 
who for many years occupied the })osition of the last 
of the Lenni-Lenape in New Jersey. 

She lived to be more than ninety years old ; and 
her long straight black hair, her copper-colored skin, 
and bright eyes, gave the people of the 
neighborhood a good idea of what sort 
of people used to inhabit this country 
before their ancestors came over the sea. 
She had many true Indian character- 
istics, and loved to work in the open air 
better than to attend to domestic mat- 
ters in the house. Even when she 
was very old, she would go into the 
woods and cut down trees as if 
she had been a man. She did not 
die until December, 1H94; and "x 
then the people who had known yj 
her so long gathered together at her 
funeral, and buried the last of the Indians of New Jersey. 

Thus Scheyichbi, the land of the Indians, became 
truly and honestly New Jersey, the land of the Eng- 
lish settlers; and to this State belongs the honor of 
having been the first in the Union in which the set- 
tlers j)urchased and i)aid for the lands on which they 
settled, and in which the aboriginal owners were so 
fairly treated that every foot of the soil not purchased 
of them by individuals was bought and paid for by the 
government of the State. 




FINS, RATTLES, AND WINGS. 




WHEN the first settlers came to New Jersey, they 
found in that country plenty of wild animals, 
some of them desirable, and some quite otherwise. 
In the first class were o^reat herds of red deer (espe- 
cially in the central portion of the State), beavers, hares, 
42 



43 

and squirrels, and, among the dangerous kinds, bears, 
panthers, wolves, wild cats, and rattlesnakes. There 
were also many foxes, which were a great injury to 
the poultry yards of the settlers. Some of these 
creatures were so troublesome, that bounties were 
paid for the heads of panthers, foxes, and some other 
animals. 

The white settlers found New Jersey a capital hunt- 
ing ground. Nothing, however, that is told about hunt- 
ing in the early days of New Jersey equals the accounts 
which are given of the fishing in the waters of that 
State. Soon after the settlement of Burlington, one 
of the townspeople wrote to his friends in England, 
describing the manner in which the people fished in 
that place. 

The Delaware abounded in fish, and in the spring 
it swarmed with herring. When the early Burlingto- 
nians wanted to catch herring, they did not trouble 
themselves about nets, or hooks and lines, but they 
built in the shallow water near the shore a pen, or, 
as they called it, a "pinfold," made by driving stakes 
into the sand so as to inclose a circular space about 
six feet in diameter. On the side toward the open 
water an aperture was left ; and a big bush was 
made ready to close this up when the proper time 
came. Then the fishermen waded into the water, 
carrying with them great birch bushes. Sweeping 
the water with these, they slowly advanced toward 
the pinfold, driving swarms of herring before them, 
and so surrounding the frightened fish, that they had 
no way of escape, except by rushing through the 



44 

entrance of the pinfold. Into the inclosure the shin- 
ing creatures shot, — pushing, crowding, and dashing 
over each other, — until the pen was packed with fish, 
almost as closely jammed together as sardines in a 
tin box. Then the bush was driven down into the 
opening ; and all that it was necessary to do, was to 
dip into the pinfold and take out great handfuls of 
fish. In this way bushels of herring could be pro- 
cured at one time. 

It is not to be supposed that in those days game 
fishing flourished to any extent ; that is, sportsmen 
did not go out with rods and flies to catch little fish 
one at a time, when it was so easy to scoop them 
up by dozens. 

Shad, too, were very abundant in those days, but 
not so highly valued as now. In fact, it is stated 
that when the settlers became more numerous, and 
the herring fewer, these fish were held in higher 
repute than shad ; so that, when a man bought one 
hundred herring, he was expected to take ninetv-five 
herring and five shad, or something in that |)ropor- 
tion, shad being then rather a drug in the market. 

In those early days there were denizens of the 
waters on the shores of New jeise\' ver\ nuieli more 
valuable than herring, sh;ul, or any other oi these 
finny creatures, no matter in what dense throngs 
they might j)rcsent themselves. These were wlialcs, 
of which there were numbers in Delaware Haw and 
even some distance up the ri\er. When the Dutch 
De V'ries first came into these waters, he came after 
whales; and even at the ])resent da\' one ol these 



45 

great water monsters occasionally investigates the 
western coast of New Jersey, generally paying dear 
tor his curiosity. 

There were a great many snakes, many of them 
rattlesnakes, especially in the hilly country. The 
early settlers had a curious way of making them- 
selves safe from these creatures. When they were 
going to make a journey through the woods or along 
wild country, where they expected to find snakes, 
they would take with them several hogs, and drive 
these grunting creatures in front of them. Hogs are 
very fond of eating snakes, and as they went along 
they would devour all they met with. It did not 
matter to the hogs whether the snakes were poison- 
ous or harmless, they ate them all the same ; for 
even the most venomous rattlesnake has but little 
chance against a porker in good condition, who, with 
his coat of bristles and the thick lining of fat under 
his skin, is so well protected against the fangs of 
the snake, that he pays no more attention to them 
than we to the seeds of a strawberry when we are 
eating one. 

Rattlesnakes were in fact the most dangerous 
wild animals with which the early settlers had to 
contend ; for they were very numerous, and their bite, 
if not treated properly at once, was generally fatal. 
The Indians, who well knew the habits of the snake, 
were not nearly as much afraid of it as were the 
whites. 

In order to protect one's self against these creatures, 
unless there are too many of them, it is only neces- 



46 

sary to make noise enough to let the snake know 
that some one is approaching, and it gets out of the 
way as fast as possible ; or, if it has not time to do 
this, it coils itself up and springs its rattle, thus giv- 
ing notice that it is on hand, and ready to strike. 

It has often been said that the snake's rattle is for 
warning to birds and other animals ; but this is now 
known to be a mistake, for when a snake rattles, it 
strikes its victim almost at the same time, if it has 
a chance. 

It is now believed that the rattle is used to attract 
the attention of birds and other small creatures ; and 
w^hen they turn, and look into the eyes of the ter- 
rible serpent, they are so overcome with terror that 
they cannot fly away, and soon become its prey. 
This is commonly called snake charming; and a great 
many instances of it are related by people who are in 
the habit of telling the truth, and who have seen a 
snake charm a bird which could have flown away just 
as well as not, had it not been for the terrible attrac- 
tion of those great eyes, which drew it nearer and 
nearer, until at last it found itself in the jaws of a 
snake. 

The Indians did not give this significance to the 
rattle : they believed, as many i)eople now do, that 
it was merely used as a warning. So, when an In- 
dian met with a snake which rattled before he came 
up to it, he took it to be a snake of honest, straight- 
forward principles, who wished to deceive nobody, 
and therefore gave fair notice of its presence. Such 
a serpent was never molested. But if a snake rattled 



47 

after an Indian had passed, the red man went back 
and killed the creature, on the ground that it was 
a sneak and a coward, which had neglected to give 
warning to the passer-by. 

A farmer living in Cumberland County tells a story 
about having discovered an island in a swamp, which 
so abounded in snakes, that he and some of his neigh- 
bors conceived the idea that this was the place where 
they made their headquarters, and from which, in 
summer time, they wandered to forage upon the coun- 
try. The farmers waited until winter before they made 
an attack upon this stronghold ; and then they came 
and dug up the ground, knowing that these reptiles 
always pass the cold season in a torpid state under- 
ground. 

It was not long before they came to what might be 
called in these days a cold-storage vault. This was 
a flat-bottomed cavity, filled to the depth of about three 
inches with clear spring water ; and in this water were 
packed away a ^^^^^^ great number of snakes, 
evenly laid side ^i^^ by side, so as to take up 
as little room as possible. The majority of these crea- 
tures were rattlesnakes ; but there were . ». ' 
black snakes among them, and one V ,'''\^H^ I' 
large spotted snake. Besides these, JJ ^,/t'^s^^^, 
there were, as the narrator ex- ..*v^*?f/ 3 X'1;V-^* 



pressed it, at least a peck of 
spring frogs ; these having 
probably crawled in to 
fill up all corners and 
vacant places. All these 



^srM 



?_>. 




48 

reptiles were of course dormant and insensible, and 
were easily destroyed. 

There is another story which g,\vcs even a better 
idea of the abundance of rattlesnakes in the new- 
colony. In a quarry, from which the workmen were 
engaged in getting out stone for the foundations of 
Princeton College, a wide crack in the rocks was dis- 
covered, which led downward to a large cavity ; and 
in this cave were found about twenty bushels of rattle- 
snake bones. There was no reason to believe that 
this was a snake cemetery, to which these creatures 
retired when they suppo.sed they were approaching 
the end of their days ; but it was, without doubt, a 
great rattlesnake trap. The winding narrow passage 
leading to it must have been very attractive to a snake 
seeking for retired quarters in which to take his long 
winter najx Although the cave at the bottom of the 
great crack was easy enough to get into, it was so 
arranged that it was difficult, if not iin])ossible, for a 
snake to get out of it, cspcciall\- in the spring, when 
these creatures are very thin antl weak, haxing been 
nourished all winter by their own fat. Thus year after 
year the rattlesnakes must have gone down into that 
cavit\', without knowing that thev could never get out 
again. 

The great rivals, in point of numliers, to the her- 
ring and other lish in the rivers of New JerscN' (and 
the snakes in their winter (piarters underground), were 
the wild ])igeons in the air. Several times in the 
year the settlers would be visited bv x'ast flocks of 
these birds, whieh came in such numbers as to shut 



49 

nut the light of the sun, as if they had been clouds 
in the sky. They would remain in one place for a 
few days, and then pass on. As it was unnecessary 
to use hooks and lines to catch a few fish out of the 
multitudes which swarmed in the streams, so it was 
hardly worth while to waste powder and shot on the 
vast flocks of pigeons which visited New Jersey in 
those days. When they came to roost in the forests, 
thev could be knocked down with poles and stones ; and 
thousands and thousands of them were thus obtained 
by the men and boys, and very good eating they were. 

There was a summer in which the settlers were very 
much astonished by the advent of a vast army of in- 
vaders to which they were not at all accustomed. 
These were locusts, probably of the kind we now call 
seventeen-year locusts ; and the people were ama/.ed to 
see these creatures come up out of the ground, clad 
in their horny coats of mail, which they afterwards 
cast off, when they appeared as winged creatures. 

They could not understand how insects encumbered 
by such hard, unwieldy shells, could penetrate to such 
distance below the surface of the earth ; for they did 
not know that each one of these locusts came from a 
little worm which had dropped into the ground many 
years before, and which had worked its wa)- down to 
a great depth, and then, about a sixth of a century 
afterward, had reappeared on the surface as a hard- 
shell locust, ready to split its back, get out of its shell, 
spend a few days flying about in the summer air. lay 
its eggs in the twigs of trees, and then, having fultillrd 
all its duties on this earth, to tlie. 

STO. ()!•• N.J. — 4 



50 

Although the farmers probably supposed that their 
crops would be eaten up by this vast horde of locusts, 
no great injury was done to them ; for, as we now 
know, the seventeen-year locusts do not appear upon 
earth to destroy crops and vegetation, being far dif- 
ferent from the grasshopper-like locusts which in our 
Western countries sometimes devastate large sections 
of farming lands. The twigs of the trees, which had 
been punctured in order that the eggs might be de- 
posited, recovered their life, and put forth their leaves 
again when they had ceased to act as insect incu- 
bators. 




THE STORY OF A GIRL AND A HOGS- 
HEAD. 

SETTLERS came to New Jersey in various ways. 
Their voyages were generally very long, and it 
often happened that they did not settle at the place 
for which they had started, for there were many cir- 
cumstances which might induce them to change their 
mind after they reached this country. 

But there was one settler, and a very valuable one 
too, who came to New Jersey in an entirely original 
and novel fashion. She was a girl only sixteen years 
old, and a Swede. There is no reason to suppose that 
she wanted to come to America ; but circumstances 
made it necessary that she should get out of Sweden, 
and this country was a very good place to come to. 
It is said that this girl, whose surname we do not 
know, but who was called Elizabeth, was a connec- 
tion of the Swedish royal family ; and, as there was 
great trouble at the time between different factions 
in the land, it happened that it was dangerous for 
Elizabeth to remain in Sweden, and it was very diffi- 
cult to get her away. It is quite certain that she was 
a person of importance, because it was considered ab- 
solutely necessary to keep the authorities from know- 
ing that she was about to sail for foreign lands. 
51 



52 

There are people at the present day who, when 
they first go on board an ocean steamer, are very 
much surprised and disgusted at the small size of the 
stateroom they will have to occupy during the voyage ; 
but if they could have seen the accommodations with 
which Elizabeth was obliged to content herself, they 
would not look with such contempt upon a room in 
which three persons can sleep, leaving space to move 
about. 

The people who had Elizabeth's passage in charge 
conceived the idea that the safest way to get her on 
board the vessel, which was waiting at the dock, would 
be to ship her as freight. So she was put into a large 
hogshead, and securely fastened up, and then carried 
on board. She must have been a girl of a good deal 
of pluck, for the vessel was not to sail for several 
days, and she must remain in the hogshead all that 
time, as the officials of the port might come on board 
at any moment and discover her, if she should get 
out of her hiding place. I have no doubt that she 
was supplied with three or four meals a day through 
the bunghole. 

Not only was Elizabeth's precious self thus duly 
consigned to America as if she had been ordinary 
merchandise, but a great many of her valuable pos- 
sessions, jewels, clothes, etc., were also shipped to 
accompany her. In the course of time, and it must 
have been a dreary time to this poor girl, the ship 
moved out of the dock, and started on its voyage 
across the North Sea, and then over the Atlantic to 
the new country. Not until the vessel was well out 



53 



of sight of land, and free from danger of being over- 
hauled bv a vessel of the Swedish navy, did Eliza- 
beth come out of her barrel and breathe the fresh 
sea air. 

At that time, early in the seventeenth century, a 
good many vessels crossed the Atlantic, and most of 
them must have made safe and successful 
voyages ; but it so happened that the 
ship in which Elizabeth sailed was not 
a fortunate craft. When she reached 
the far-stretching Jersey coast, danger- 
ous even now to mariners who know it 
well, this vessel was overtaken by storm. 
and soon became a hopeless wreck. 

It might have been a very good 
thing if Elizabeth had concluded 
to end her voyage as she began it. 
If she had put her valuables into 
her hogshead, and then had jumped 
in herself and had asked some of 
the sailors to fasten her up, there 
is no doubt that she would have 
floated ashore, if she had known 
how to keep the open bunghole 
uppermost, — which no doubt she 
did, — and would have saved all her possessions. If 
one must float through stormy waves and great break- 
ers, there is no safer way to do it than in a hogshead, 
as has been proved by the man who in that way navi- 
gated the fierce rapids at Niagara. But Elizabeth did 
not go back to her hogshead. She took her chances 




54 

with the rest of the people on board, and with them 
was cast on the shore of New Jersey. 

This shore was absohitely wild and bare, and what 
became of the others who reached it, we do not know ; 
but Elizabeth eventually wandered off by herself, alone 
and lost in a strange land. If the people who had 
been so much concerned about her connection with the 
Swedish throne had been able to see her then, they 
w^ould have been perfectly satisfied that she would give 
them no further trouble. How she lived during her 
days of wandering and solitude is not told ; but when 
we remember that New Jersey is noted for its berries 
and for its clams, and that it was probably summer time 
when she was cast ashore (for mariners would generally 
calculate to arrive at the settlement in good weather), 
we may give a very good guess at Elizabeth's diet. 

It was not very long before she found that there 
was another wanderer in this desolate and lonely 
place. She met with a white hunter named Garrison; 
and very much surprised must he have been when his 
eyes first fell upon her, — almost as nuicli surprised, 
perhaps, as if he had come upon a stranded hogshead, 
with a human voice calling through the bunghole to 
be let out. 

When a possible heiress of a royal crown meets 
with a solitary hunter, probably poor and of no family 
to speak of, her reception of him depends very much 
upon surrounding circumstances. In this case, those 
circumstances induced I^lizabeth to look ujion Gar- 
rison with more favor than she had ever looked upon 
a king or no])le, lor there is no doubt that she would 



55 

have perished on that wild and uninhabited coast if 
she had not met with him. 

Of course, the hunter gladly undertook to guide 
this Swedish girl to a settlement ; and the two started 
off on their long tramp. It is not at all surprising 
that they soon began to like each other, that it was not 
long before they fell in love, and that in course of 




time they were duly married. If she had ever thought 
of a marriage with a high-born Swede, Elizabeth gave 
up all such notions when she entered her hogshead, 
and left all her proud hopes behind her. 

This young couple — one of royal Swedish blood, the 
other a hardy hunter of the New World — settled near 
Bridgeton, and there they flourished and prospered. 
Elizabeth lived to be ninety-five years old. She had 
ten children, and in i860 it was computed that her 



56 

descenchmts numbered at least a thousand. That 
any of these considered themselves better than their 
neighbors, because it was possible that they might 
have a drop or two of royal blood in their veins, is 
not likely ; for but few American families would care 
to base their claims of social superiority upon such a 
very diluted foundation as this. But they would have 
good reason to trace with pride their descent from 
the plucky girl who started for America in a hogs- 
head, and who was able to land alone and unassisted 
on the Jersey coast in a storm, and to take care of 
herself after she got ashore. 



'^'""^^^^^"'^ 




-::_-'- - .r 



THE STORY OF PENELOPP: STOUT. 

IN the early clays of New Jersey, the Dutch settlers 
suffered very much from Indian hostilities. It was 
at the time that New Amsterdam, afterwards New 
York, was in the possession of the Dutch, that a ship 
came froni Holland, bringing passengers who intended 
to settle in the new country. The ship was unfortu- 
natclv wrecked in the neighborhood of Sandy Hook; 
hut all the passengers managed to save themselves, 
and reached the shore. 

Among these was a young couple whose names we 
do not know, except that the wife's maiden name was 
Penelope Van Princis. Her husband had been very 
sick during the voyage ; and getting ashore through 
the surf from the wreck could not have been of any 
benefit to him, for, after he had reached dry land, he 
felt even worse than he had ui)on shipboard, and 
needed all the attention his wife could give him. 

Although the passengers and crew of this vessel 
had reached the shore, they did not by any means 
consider themselves in safety ; for they were very 
much afraid of the Indians, and desired above every- 
thing to make what haste they could toward New 
Amsterdam. They therefore started away as soon 
57 



58 

as possible, l^ut Pencloj:)e's husband was too sick to 
go any farther at that time, and his .wife was too 
good a woman to leave her husband in that lonely 
spot ; and so these two were left behind, while the 
rest of the company started for New Amsterdam, 
promising, however, that they would send help to the 
unfortunate couple. 

The fears of these immigrants in regard to the 
Indians were not without foundation ; for the main 
party had not long departed, when a band of red men, 
probably having heard in some way of the wreck of 
the ship, appeared upon the scene, and discovered poor 
Penelope and her sick husband. It is unfortunately 
the disposition of most savages to show little ])ity for 
weakness and suffering, and the fact that the poor 
young man could not do them any i)()ssible harm had 
no effect upon them, and they set upon him and killed 
him ; very much as a boy would kill a little harmless 
snake, for no reason whatever, except that he was 
able to do it. 

Then they determined to kill Pcnclojie also, and, 
attacking her with their tomahawks, they so cut and 
wounded her that she fell down bleeding and insen- 
sible. Having built a Hrc, these brave warriors conked 
themselves a comfortable meal, and then departed. 
]iut Penelo])e was not killed, and. coming to her 
senses, her instincts told her that the first thing to 
do was to hide herself from these bloodthirsty red 
men : .so, .slowly and painfully, she crawled away to 
the edge of a wood, and found there a great hollow 
tree, into wiiich she crept. 



59 

This made but narrow and doleful quarters for a 
wounded woman, but it was preferable at that time 
to the blue sky and fresh air. She did not leave the 
tree until nightfall, and then she made her way to 
the place where the fire was still glimmering ; and by 
great care, and with what must have been painful 
labor, she kept this fire from going out, and so man- 
aged to get a little warmth. 

In this way, living in the tree the greater part of 
the time, and depending for food chiefly upon the 
fungous excrescences and gum which grew on the 
outside of it, — for she was not able to go in search of 
berries and other food, — poor Penelope lived for a few 
da\s, witli her dead husband on the beach, and her 
almost dead self in that cavern-like tree. The hours 
must have passed mournfully indeed to this young 
woman who had set out for the New World with 
such bright hopes. 

That she survived her terrible hardships was due 
entirely to the existence of the danger she most 
feared ; that is, the reappearance of the Indians. On 
the second morning, nearly famished and very weak, 
Penelope was making her way slowly over the ground, 
endeavoring to find something she could eat, or a little 
dew in the hollow of a leaf, that she might drink, 
when suddenly there came out of the woods two tall 
Indians, who, naturally enough, were much surprised 
to find a wounded white woman there alone upon the 
seashore. 

Penelope gave herself up as lost. There was noth- 
ing now for her to do but to submit to her fate. It 



Go 



was a i^ity, she thought, that she had not been slain 
with her husband. 

But the Indians did not immediately rush at her 
with their tomahawks: the)' stood and talked to- 
gether, evidently about her, with their fierce eyes 
continually tixed upon her. 
. 'j^^ Then their conversation be- 
\.. \ came more animated, and 
it was soon i)lain that 
they were disputing. Of 
course, she did not then 
know the cause of their 
V ■• difference of o])inion ; but 

she found out afterwards that one 
of them was in favor of killing her 
upon the sjiot, and the othei", an okler 
man than his companion, was more 
mercifully inclined, and wished to carr\' 
her off as a ])risoner to their camp. 
At last the older man got the 
belter of the other one ; antl he, 
iK-ing determined thai ihe poor 
wounded woman should be taken 
care of, took her up and put her 
on his shouUler, and marchetl away 
with her. 'I'hat an Indian should be able to jierform 
a feat like this is not at all surprising ; foi- wiien one 
of them shoots a deer in the forest, though many of 
those animals are hea\ier than Penelope was, he will 
put it on his back and carry it through tiie forests, 
jjcrhaps foi" miles, until he reaches his cam]i. And 




6i 

so Penelope, as if she had been a deer wounded by 
some other hunters, which these men had found, was 
carried to the Indian camp. 

There she was taken care of. Food and (hink 
were given her. Her wounds were dressed and 
treated after the Indian fashion. In due course of 
time she recovered her health and strength, and 
there — living in a wigwam, among the women and 
children of the village, pounding corn, cooking food, 
carrying burdens as did the Indian women — she re- 
mained for some time, not daring even to try to 
escape ; for in that wild country there was no ])lacc 
of safety to which it was possible for her to flee. 

Although there was a good deal of bad feeling 
between the Indians and the whites at that time, 
they still traded and communicated with each other ; 
and when, in the course of time, it became known 
in New Amsterdam that there was a white woman 
held as a prisoner in this Indian camp, there was 
every reason to suppose that this woman was the 
young wife who had been left on the seacoast by 
the survivors of the wreck. Consequently some of 
the men who had been her fellow-passengers came 
o\er to the Indian camp, which was not far from 
where Middletown now stands. Here, as they had 
expected, they found Penelope, and demanded that 
the Indians should give her up. 

After some discussion, it was agreed that the matter 
should be left with I'enelope herself; and the old Indian 
who had saved her life went to her, — for of course, be- 
ing an inferior, she was not present at the conference, 



62 

— and put the question iDcfore her. Here she was, 
with a comfortable wigwam, plenty to eat and drink, 
good Indian clothes to wear, as well treated as any 
Indian woman, and, so far as he could see, with every- 
thing to make her comfortable and happy ; and here 
she might stay if she chose. On the other hand, if 
she wished to go to New Amsterdam, she would find 
there no one with whom she was acquainted, except 
the people who had rowed away and left her on that 
desolate coast, and who might have come in search of 
her a long time before if they really had cared any- 
thing about her. If she wanted to live here among 
friends who had been kind to her, and be taken care 
of, she could do so; if she wanted to go awav and 
live among peoj^le who had deserted her, and who 
apj)eared to have forgotten her, she coukl do that. 

Very much to the surprise of this good Indian, 
Penelope declared that she should prefer to go and 
live among peoj)le of her own race and country ; and 
so, much to the regret of her Indian friends, she de- 
parted for New Amsterdam with the men who had 
come for her. 

A year or two after Penelojie had gone back to 
New Amsterdam, being then about twent\-two, she 
married an 1-Jiglishnian named Richard Stout, who 
afterwards became an imjiortant personage. He, with 
other settlers, went over to New Jersey and founded 
a little village, which was called Middletown, not far 
from [he Indian camp where Penelope had once been 
a prisoner. The Indians still remained in tliis camp, 
but now they api:)eared to be cpiite friendly to the 



63 

whites ; and the new settlers did not consider that 
there was anything dangerous in having these red 
neighbors. The good Indian who had been Penel- 
c)j)e's protector, now quite an old man, was very 
friendly and sociable, and often used to visit Mrs. 
Stout. This friendship for the woman whom he had 
saved from death seemed to have been strong and 
sincere. 

One day this old Indian came to the house of Mrs. 
Stout, and, seating himself in the room where she was, 
remained for a long time pensive and silent. This 
rather unusual conduct made Penelope fear that some- 
thing had happened to him ; and she questioned him, 
asking him why he was so silent, and why he sighed 
so often. Then the old man spoke out and told her 
that he had come on a very important errand, in which 
he had risked his own life at the hands of his tribe; 
but, having saved her life once, he had determined to 
do it again, no matter what might happen to himself. 

Then he told her that the good will of the Indians 
toward their white neighbors had come to an end, and 
that it had been determined in council that an attack 
should be made that night upon this little village, 
when every person in it — men, women, and children 
— should be put to death, the houses burned, and the 
cattle driven away. His brethren no longer wanted 
white people living near them. 

Of course, this news was a great shock to Penelope. 
She had now two little children, and she could not get 
far away with them and hide, as she herself had once 
hidden from Indian foes. But the old man told her 



64 

that she need not be afraid : he could not save all the 
people in the villaj^e, but he was her friend, and he 
had arran<;ed to save her and her family. -\t a cer- 
tain i>lace, which he described so she could not fail 
to hnd it. he had concealed a canoe ; and in that she 
and her husband, with the children, could go over to 
New Amsterdam, and there would be plenty of time 
for them to get away before the Indians would attack 
the ])lace. Having said this, and ha\ing urged her to 
lose no time in getting away, the old Indian left. 

y\s soon as he had gone. l'eneloi)e sent tor her 
husband, who was working in the fields, and told him 
what she had heard, urging him to make preparations 
instantly to escape with hei'. lUit "Mr. Stout was nt)t 
easily frightened b)' news such as this. lie |)ooh- 
poohed the whole story, and told his wife that the 
natives over there in their camp were as well dis- 
jjosed and friendly as if they had been a company 
of white settlers, and that, as these red men and the 
whites had li\cd together so long, trading with each 
other, and \ isiting each other with perfect freedom, 
there was no leason whate\er to suppose that the 
Indians would suddenly determine to rise up and 
massacre a whole settlement of peaceable neighbors, 
who had ne\er ilone them any haini, and who were a 
great benelil to them in the wa\ of trading. It woidd 
be all nonsense, he said, to lea\e their homes, and run 
awa\- from Indians so extrenieh' friendl)' and good- 
natuied as lliose in the neigliboViiig ramp. 

r)Ul i'enelope had entireK different ideas u])ou the 
subject. Slie thoroughly believed in the old Indian, ami 



65 



'''11 11 iim 



was sure that he would not have come and told her 
that story unless it had been true. If her husband 
chose to stay and risk his life, she could not help it ; 
but she would not subject herself and her children to 
the terrible danger which 
threatened them. She 
had begged her husband 
to go with her ; but as he 
had refused, and had re- 
turned to his work, she 
and her children would 
escape alone. 

Consequently she set 
out with the little ones, 
and with all haste pos- 
sible she reached the 
place where the canoe 
was moored among some 

tall reeds, and, getting in with the children, she pad- 
dled away to New Amsterdam, hoping she might reach 
there in time to send assistance to Middletown before 
the Indians should attack it. 

When Farmer Stout found that his wife had really 
gone off, and had taken the children with her, he be- 
gan to consider the matter seriously, and concluded that 
perhai)s there might be something in the news which 
the old Indian had brought. He consequently called 
together a number of the men of the village, and they 
held a consultation, in which it was determined that it 
would be a wise thing to prepare themselves against 
the threatened attack; and, arming themselves with all 




66 

the guns and pistols they could get, they met together 
in one of the houses, which was well adapted for that 
purpose, and prepared to watch all night. 

They did not watch in vain, for about midnight they 
heard from the woods that dreadful war whoop which 
the white settlers now well understood. They knew 
it meant the same thing as the roar of the lion, who, 
after silently creeping towards his intended victim, 
suddenly makes the rocks echo with the sound of his 
terrible voice, and then gives his fatal spring. 

But although these men might have been stricken 
with terror, had they heard such a war cry at a time 
when they were not expecting it, and from Indians to 
whom they were strangers, they were not so terrified 
at the coming of these red men with whom, perhaps 
only the day before, they had been trading buttons 
for venison and beans. They could not believe that 
these apparently mild and easy-going fellows could 
really be the terrible savages they tried to make them- 
selves appear. 

So Richard Stout and his companions went boldly 
out, guns in hand, to meet the oncoming savages, and, 
calling a parley, they declared that they had no in- 
tention of resting quietly, and allowing themselves and 
families to be slaughtered and their houses burned. If 
the Indians, who had so long been their good neigh- 
bors, were now determined to become bloody enemies, 
they would find that they would have to do a good 
deal of hard fighting before they could destroy the 
village of Middletown ; and, if they persisted in carry- 
ing on the bloody job they had undertaken, a good 



67 

many of them would be killed before that job was 
finished. 

Now, it had been very seldom that Indians who had 
started out to massacre whites had met with people 
who acted like this ; and these red men in war paint 
thought it wise to consider what had been said to 
them. A few of them may have had guns, but the 
majority were armed only with bows and tomahawks ; 
and these white men had guns and pistols, with plenty 
of powder and ball. It would clearly be unsafe to fight 
them. 

So, after discussing the matter among themselves 
and afterwards talking it over with the whites, the 
Indians made up their minds, that, instead of endeav- 
oring to destroy the inhabitants of Middletown, they 
would shake hands with them and make a treaty of 
peace. They then retired ; and on the following day 
a general conference was held, in which the whites 
agreed to buy the lands on which they had built their 
town, and an alliance was made for mutual protection 
and assistance. This compact was faithfully observed 
as long as there were any Indians in the neighborhood, 
and Middletown grew and flourished. 

Among the citizens of the place there were none 
who grew and flourished in a greater degree than the 
Stout family. Although Penelope bore upon her body 
the scars of her- wounds until the day of her death, 
it is stated, upon good authority, that she lived to be 
one hundred and ten years old ; so that it is plain that 
her constitution was not injured by the sufferings and 
hardships of the beginning of her life in New Jersey. 



68 



Not only did the Stouts Hourish in Middletown, but 
some of them went a Httle southward, and helped to 
found the town of Hopewell ; and here they increased 
to such a degree that one of the early historians relates 
that the Baptist Church there was founded by the 
Stouts, and that for forty-one years the religious meet- 
ings were held in the houses of different members of 
the Stout family, while, at the time he wrote, half of 
the congregation of the church were still Stouts, and 
that, all in all, there had been at least two hundred 
members of that name. So the Baptist Church in 
Hopewell, as well as all the churches in Middletown. 
owed a great deal to the good Indian who carried i)()or 
Penelope to his village, and cured her of her wounds. 




^•/vz?^ 



THE SCHOOLMASTER AND THE DOCTOR. 

OF course, it was not long after New Jersey began 
to be settled and cultivated, before there were 
a great many boys and girls who also needed to be 
cultivated. And if we are to judge their numbers by 
the families of Elizabeth, who started for the New 
World in a hogshead, and of Penelope, who began 
her life here in a hollow tree, there must have been 
an early opportunity for the establishment of flourish- 
ing schools ; that is, so far as numbers of scholars 
make schools flourishing. 

But in fact it does not appear that very early at- 
tention was given in this State to the education of 
the young. The first school of which we hear was 
established in 1664; but it is probable that the first 
settlers of New Jersey were not allowed to grow up 
to be over forty years old before they had any chance 
of going to school, and it is likely that there were small 
schools in various places of which no historical mention 
is made. 

It is admitted, however, by the historians of these 
early days of New Jersey, that education was not at- 
tended to as it should have been ; and we read that 
in 1693 an act was ])assed to "establish schoolmasters 
69 



70 

within the Province, ' for the cultivation of learning 
and good manners for the good and benefit of man- 
kind, which hath hitherto been much neglected in the 
Province.' " 

These early schools were not of a very high order ; 
the books used by younger scholars being what were 
called hornbooks, which were made by pasting upon 
a board a piece of paper containing the alphabet and 
some lessons in spelling, and covering the whole with 
a very thin sheet of horn, which was fastened on the 
board as glass is fastened over a framed picture. 
Thus the children could see the letters and words 
under the horn, but were not able to deface or tear 
the paper. It was difficult to get books in those days, 
and a hornbook would last a long time. 

We can get a pretty good idea of the character of 
the schools from an account given of the establishment 
of the first school in Newark, where the town authori- 
ties made a contract " with Mr. John Catlin to instruct 
their children and servants in as much English, read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic, as he could teach." 

But the people of New Jersey in-osjicred well, and 
the Colony soon became noted as one in which there 
was comfort and good living ; and therefore it is natural 
that when the people really could afford to apply their 
time, thought, and money to objects higher than the 
tillage of farms and tlie building of houses, they went 
to work earnestly to give their young people i)r()i)er 
oj)])ortunities for education, and we find that they were 
inclined to do this as earnestly and thoroughly as they 
had been in the habit of doing other things. 



71 

In consequence of this disposition, what is now 
Princeton College was founded in 1746. This institu- 
tion was first called the "College of New Jersey," and 
was established at Elizabethtown. It was in its early 
days a very small seat of learning ; for, when the Rev. 
Mr. Dickinson was appointed to be its president, the 
faculty consisted entirely of himself, and his only as- 
sistant was an usher. There were then about twenty 
students in the college. 

In about a year the president died; and the college 
was then removed to Newark, where the Rev. Aaron 
Burr, the father of the celebrated Aaron Burr, became 
its president, and it is probable that the faculty was 
enlarged. Ten years afterwards the college was es- 
tablished at Princeton. 

The manners and customs of the college must have 
been very primitive, and we will give a few of the 
rules which were made for the students : " P2very 
scholar shall keep his hat off to the president about 
ten rods, and about five to the tutors. When walking 
with a superior, they shall give him the highest place, 
and when first going into his company, they shall 
show their respects to him by first pulling off their 
hats ; shall give place to him at any door or entrance ; 
or meeting him going up and down stairs shall stop, 
giving him the bannister side ; " and, in speaking to 
a superior, " shall always give a direct and jicrtinent 
answer, concluding with Sir." Thus it is seen that 
attention to good manners was one of the most im- 
portant branches of study taught at the young col- 
lege. 



But in certain districts of New Jersey, people seemed 
to be very slow in perceiving the advantages of schools 
in their midst. Schools had sprung up here and there 
in towns and villages, many of them boarding schools ; 
and to these the richer farmers would send their 
children. But it took i:)eop]e in some rural places a 
good while to hnd out that it would be a good thing 
to have a school in their midst. 

A story is told of the establishment of a school of 
this kind in Deckertown as late as 1833. The people 
of this village had never thought it worth while to 
have a school of their own ; and even after a gentle- 
man of learning and ability, who was well known in 
the place, offered to take charge of such a school, 
they did not look with any favor upon the enterj^rise. 
The only place for a schoolhouse, which he was able 
to o])tain, was a very small building, consisting of one 
room, and situated on the outskirts of the town. 
Mere he started a school with one scholar; and even 
this little fellow was not a Jersey boy, but came from 
New York. 

For a considerable time this single scholar consti- 
tuted the school, and he and the schoolmaster walked 
back and forth from the village to the little cabin 
every day ; while the only interest that the tow ns- 
|)e()])le seemed to take in them was shown b\' their 
laughing at the schoolmaster, and comparing him to 
a hen with one chicken. It must not be suj^jiosed 
that it was because the citizens did not beliexe in 
education ; but, as thev IkhI been in the habit cf send- 
ing their children away to school, the)' thought that 



7:^ 



tliat was the proper thinf;" to do, and, as there never 
had licen a school in the town, they saw no reason 
why there should be one then. But the school in- 
creased, and in less than a year it numbered twenty 
scholars. 

There is a rather peculiar story told of this school 
in its early days. It had been established about 
two months, when the 
schoolmaster happened 
to be walking in 
the direction of 7"^ : 
the school quite ' ^ i^JR.i'?!* 
late in the even- 1' IKfl Y\ 

ing, and to his _ || 




amazement he —JjJ^V^^Lt) 
- -^ _ — &,i-i iri: 
saw that the 

little room was brilliantly 

lighted. Now, as he and 

his scholar had left it 

ill the afternoon, and he 

had locked the door, 

could not understand the 

state of affairs. Hurrying to the house, he looked 

in at the window, and saw that the room was nearly 

tilled with well-dressed men, who were standing and 

silting around a table on which were spread cards 

and money. lie saw that they were a company of 

gamblers ; but how they came there, and why they came, 

he could not imagine. Of course, he could not drive 

them out ; but, after watching them for a little while, 

he Ixjldly ()i)ened the door and went in among them. 



74 

They were so occupied with their game, however, 
that they paid little attention to him ; and, after stand- 
ing with them for a time, he remarked to one of 
them that he hoped that when they had finished 
their game, and were ready to go away, they would 
leave everything behind them in as good order as 
they had found it, and then he himself departed and 
went home. But the next morning, when he and his 
scholar came to the schoolhouse, he found every- 
thing as they had left it on the afternoon before ; and 
this schoolmaster might have been excused if he had 
imagined that he had dreamed that he saw the curious 
sight of a company of gamblers in his schoolhouse. 

But he found out afterwards that it was no dream. 
There was a set of men gathered together from the 
neighboring country, who rcgularl)- spent certain even- 
ings in gambling for high stakes. They had dis- 
covered that there was no better place for their 
meetings than the little schoolhouse, which was ten- 
anted by two persons in the daytime and by nobodv 
at night ; and, as it was so far away from the other 
houses, it was a very convenient jilace for their 
secret meetings, and they had been in the habit of 
assembling thei-e almost from the \ery time that it 
was cleaned out and arranged for a schoolhouse. 

When the schoolmaster found that he had devoted 
his energies to the establishment of a very flourish- 
ing gambling saloon, when he supj)osed that he had 
founded nothing but a weak little school, he took 
measures to prevent any further visits from the gen- 
tlemen with the cards and the monev. After that, 



75 

the exercises in additicin, subtraction, and multiplica- 
tion, were figured out with a pencil or chalk instead 
of being done by means of spades or diamonds. 

In those early days the doctor was almost as slow 
in coming to the front as was the schoolmaster. 

In fact, it is said that the first doctors in New 
Jersey were women, and that the people placed such 
faith in their abilities, that unless a case were very 
serious indeed, so that a physician had to be sent 
for from the city, they were perfectly satisfied with 
the services of the women doctors. It is also stated, 
that in those days the people of New Jersey were 
very healthy. These two statements can be put to- 
gether in different ways : some may say, that, where 
people were so seldom sick, doctors of great ability 
were not needed ; while, on the other hand, those 
who have a higher opinion of womankind might well 
believe, that, because women made such good doctors, 
the people were seldom sick. 

It must be remembered, however, that the mothers, 
wives, sisters, and daughters of the people of this 
State, were formerly looked upon as of more impor- 
tance than they are now ; and among the rights 
which they possessed in those early days, but of 
which they have since been deprived, was the right 
of voting. An early writer, speaking of this privilege, 
says, " The New Jersey women, however, showed 
themselves worthy of the respect of their countrymen 
by generally declining to avail themselves of this 
preposterous proof of it." It is very pleasant for us 
to remember that New Jersey was among the first of 



76 

our States in which free and equal rights were given 
to all citizens, male or female, if they chose to avail 
themselves of them. 

But when the population of New Jersey so in- 
creased that it became plain that the women could 
not be physicians, and attend at the same time to 
their domestic duties, the care of their children, and 
the demands of society, the citizens of New Jersey 
gave as earnest and thorough attention to their needs 
in the way of medicine and surgery as they had 
given to their needs in the way of college education ; 
and the first State Medical Society in this country 
was founded in New Jersey in the year 1766. 

It is said that some of the early doctors of New 
Jersey possessed great ability, and, although there 
could not have been many of them at first, they 
arranged for a suitable increase in their society, and 
nearly every one of them had one or more students. 

A medical student in those days did not occupy 
the same position that he holds now. In fact, he 
was nothing more nor less than an api)rentice \.o his 
master. He was bound to the doctor by a regular 
indenture. He lived in his family, and, when he was 
not engaged in his studies, he was expected to make 
himself useful in various domestic ways, often learn- 
ing the use of the saw in the wootl \ar(l. 

A very natural consequence of this doniestic fashit)n 
of pursuing their studies was, that, when the young 
doctor started out to establish a practice for himself, 
he not only had a certificate or diploma from his 
master, but was also provided with ,1 wife, for mar- 



riages of medical students with the daughters of their 
preceptors were very common. 

What further outfit was furnished a student setting 
out in practice for himself, may be imagined from 
the conclusion of an old indenture of apprenticeship, 
which states, that when Jacobus Hubbard shall have 
fulfilled his apprenticeship of four years and eight 
months, — during which he has well and faithfully 
served his master, his secrets kept, his lawful com- 
mands gladly everywhere obeyed, — he shall be pro- 
vided, when he goes forth as doctor, with a " new set 
of surgeon's pocket instruments, Solomon's Dispensa- 
tory, Ouence's Dispensatory, and Fuller on Fevers." 

It is probable that such a very healthy country as 
New Jersey did not always give a doctor of a neigh- 
borhood sufficient work to occupy his time, and there- 
fore the early physicians used to combine other pro- 
fessions with that of medicine and surgery. Some 
were lawyers, others clergymen, and many were farm- 
ers and planters. The following story is told about 
the Rev. Jacob Green, "who lived in Hanover, and 
was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in that place. 
He had also many other callings, as may be inferred 
from a letter addressed to him by a wag, and which 
was said not to exaggerate tlie truth : — 



To the Rev. Jacob Green, Preacher. 
Teacher. 
" " " '' Doctor. 

« " " " Proctor. 

« " " " Miller. 

« " " " Destiller.'"' 



78 

The necessity for this variety of occupation is 
shown by a letter from a gentleman named Charles 
Gordon, living near Plainfield, to his brother, Dr. 
John Gordon, in England, in which he says, "If you 
design to come hither, you may come as a planter or 
merchant ; but as a doctor of medicine I cannot ad- 
vise you, for I hear of no diseases to cure but some 
agues and some - cutted legs and fingers." Other 
physicians gave up their professions at the beginning 
of the Revolution, and became prominent in military 
matters. 

Dr. John Cochran, one of the first New Jersey 
physicians, was a man of wide experience and repu- 
tation. He was surgeon in the British hospital dur- 
ing the French War, and afterward practiced medi- 
cine in New Brunswick. During the Revolution, he 
became an army surgeon. He was a friend of Wash- 
ington, and, in fact, was quite intimate with the com- 
mander in chief of the American forces. It is said 
that when W^ashington was at West Point in 1779, 
and the doctor and his family were stationed at the 
same place, Washington wrote to Dr. Cochran almost 
the only facetious letter which is known to have 
come from the ])en of that graxe anil dignified man. 

This letter informs tlie doctor that he has invited 
Mrs. Cochran and I\Irs. Livingston to dine witli him 
the ne.xt day, and says that the table is large enough 
for the ladies, and then proceeds to tell " how it is 
covered." "Since our arrival at this happ)- sjiot, we 
have had a ham, sometimes a shoulder of bacon, to 
grace the head of the table ; a piece of roast beef 



79 

adorns the foot, and a dish of beans or greens, 
ahiiost imperceptible, decorates the center. When 
the cook has a mind to cut a figure, which I pre- 
sume will be the case to-morrow, we have two beef- 
steak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition, one on 
each side of the center dish, dividing the space, and 
reducing the distance between dish and dish to about 
six feet, which without them would be twelve feet 
apart. Of late, he has had the surprising sagacity 
to discover that apples will make pies, and it is a 
question if in the violence of his efforts we do not 
get one of apples instead of having both of beef- 
steak. If the ladies can put up with such entertain- 
ment, and will submit to partake of it on plates once 
tin, now iron (not become so by scouring), I shall be 
happy to see them." 

The fact that the early physicians of New Jersey 
were very skillful, and patients in that healthful coun- 
try very scarce, seems to have had the effect of 
making some physicians of that day extremely sharp 
about business matters. A certain doctor of Rahway 
had been called upon to visit a rich man who was in 
great pain and distress. The doctor having adminis- 
tered some medicine, the patient very speedily recov- 
ered. Some time after this, the doctor determined to 
leave Rahway ; and the rich man who had been at- 
tended by him with such gratifying results began to 
be afraid that he might be taken sick again in the 
same way. So he went to the doctor, and rec] nested 
that before he left, he would give him the prescription 
which had seemed to suit his case so admirably. 



8o 

Doctors seldom approve of their patients taking 
their treatment into their own hands ; but, after a little 
consideration, he said he would furnish the prescrip- 
tion, but that it would cost ten dollars. This quite 
astonished the rich man, and at first he refused to 
pay such a high price ; but, after considering that it 
might save him many visits from the new doctor who 
should come to Rahway, he agreed to pay the j^rice 
demanded, and the prescription was written, and de- 
livered to him. When he reached his home, he 
thought he would try to make out what this prescrip- 
tion was ; but when he opened the paper, he found 
nothing but the word "catnip." It is not likely that 
he ever again tried to take advantage of the medical 
profession. 

But it was not always Jersey doctors whose wit 
shone brightest in a financial transaction. There was 
a doctor in the town of Rocky Hill who was sent for 
to attend a poor old man who was suffering with a 
piece of bone sticking in his throat. The doctor went 
immediately to the old man's house, and it was not 
long before the bone was out. As the doctor was 
packing up his instruments, the old fellow, whose 
name was William, inciuired iiow much he would 
have to pay ; and the doctor replied that for an oper- 
ation of that sort his charge was five dollars. This 
quite astonished William, wlio looliahh- had nol ti\e 
cents in the house; but he wished to pay his debts, 
and not to be considered a j)au])er patient, and so he 
asked the doctor if he might come to his house and 
work out the bill. The doctor replied that that would 



8 1 



be entirely satisfactory to him, and that William might 
come the next day and work in the garden. 

The next day old William went to the doctor's 
house. All day he faithfully dug and hoed and 
raked. Toward the end of the afternoon the doctor 
came into the garden, and, after informing William 
that he might come again, he casually asked him 
how much he charged for a day's work. W'illiam 
stood up and promptly answered, that for a day's 
labor in the garden his charge was five dollars. Now 
was the doctor surprised. 

" You don't mean," he exclaimed, " that you are 
going to ask five dollars for one day's labor!" 

"That is exactly my price," said William. 
"If two minutes' yanking with a pair of 
])incers at a little bone is worth five dol- 
lars, then one day's hard labor in 
tillin 
much. 

It often happens 



the ground is worth just as 



that 

doctors are men of wit and 
humor; and it is recorded 
that a New Jersey physi- 
cian, named Dr. Hole, was 
the author of the first ver- 
sion of a tombstone epitaph 
which afterwards became 
widely known and used. 
The lines of Dr. Hole are 
cut upon a tombstone of a 
child, and run as follows : — 

STO. UK N.J. — 6 




82 

*'A dropsy sore long time I bore: 
Forsitions were in vain 
Till God above did hear my moan, 
And eased me of my pain.'" 

That some of those early doctors were honest is 
proved by a doctor's bill which is now preserved in 
the New Jersey Historical Society. At the end of 
this bill, after all the different items of service and 
medicine had been charged upon it, there is this 
entry: "Contrary credit by Medsons brought back." 
It would be difficult now to find a doctor in New 
Jersey, or anywhere else, who would be willing to 
take back, and allow credit for, all partly filled bottles 
of medicine, and boxes of pills, the contents of which 
had been ordered, but not entirely used. 





THE SLAVES/ OF NEW JERSEY. 



J 



E have so long looked 
upon New Jersey as 
prominent among what were 
called the " free States " of 
the Union, that it now 
seems strange when we 
consider, that among the 
first of the institutions 
established upon its soil by 
the early settlers, was the 
system of slavery. This was the case not 
only in New Jersey, but in all the Amer- 
ican Colonies. The settlers of New England, as 
well as those of the Southern Colonies, used negro 
slaves as laborers on their farms ; and the trade in 
native Africans was a very important branch of in- 
dustry. 

The Duke of York, to whom his brother, Charles II., 
83 




84 

had made a grant of extensive American possessions, 
was at the head of the African Company, formed 
for the purpose of bringing slaves from Africa, and 
selling them. The Dutch were then the great rivals 
of the English in this trade ; and the Duke of 
York was very glad to possess New Jersey and the 
rest of his grant, for then he could not only oust 
the Dutch from the territory, but could possess 
himself of this very desirable and profitable slave 
market. 

But it was not only the English and Dutch who 
brought negro slaves to America, for it is stated that 
the earliest Swedish settlers brought slaves with them 
as laborers. So we may say that slavery and free- 
dom were planted together in this country of ours ; 
one to be pulled up afterward like a weed, the other 
to be left to grow and flourish. 

When Berkeley and Carteret accjuircd authority 
over New Jersey, they did everything that they could 
to induce settlers to come to the new country ; and, 
as they were an.xious to have tlie lands ojiened uj) 
and cultivated as rapidly as possible, they encouraged 
immigrants to bring as many slaves as they could 
afford. They offered one hundred and fifty acres to 
every one who would settle, and another one hun- 
dred and fifty acres for every full-grown able-bodied 
male slave, and seventy-five acres each for those not 
grown uj). Afterwards, when slaves became more 
numerous, the bounties givL-n on their account were 
diminished, and in course of time they ceased alto- 
gether. 



85 



A great many slaves must have been brought direct 
from Africa to New Jersey, for at Perth Amboy 
there was established what was then called a bar- 
racks ; and in this, negroes who had ..,^, 
been brought in the slave ships 
were confined until they were sold 
and sent out into the country. 

Not only were there negro slaves 
in the State, but there were also 
Indians who had been enslaved, and 
were regularly sold and bought. 
How these red men happened to be 
slaves, we do not certainly know ; 
but we may be very sure that the 
whites did not make war upon In- 
dian tribes, and capture prisoners, 
for the jHirpose of making slaves of 
them. It is far more likely, that, 
when one tribe of Indians made 
war upon another, the conquerors 
found it a very profitable thing 
to sell their prisoners to the whites. There is no 
reason to suppose, however, that the natives made 
war on purpose to capture and sell their fellow- 
countrymen, as was the case in Africa. 

The early records, however, prove that there were 
Indian slaves. When the House of Representatives 
for the Province met at Burlington in 1704, an act 
was brought before that body for the regulating of 
Indian and negro slaves. 

Negroes were then considered to be such legiti- 




86 

mate articles of merchandise, that Enj^lish sovereigns 
thought it very necessary to see to it that their loyal 
settlers were sufficiently supplied with slaves, and at 
prices not too high. When Queen Anne sent out 
Lord Cornbury as governor of the Province, she 
recommended the Royal African Company to the 
especial attention of the governor, that New Jersey 
might have a constant and sufficient supply of mer- 
chantable negroes at moderate rates in money or 
commodities. In consequence of the fostering care 
of the Proprietors and the English sovereigns, slaves 
rapidly increased in New Jersey. 

The English themselves were not at all averse to 
the ownership of a good serviceable slave ; and about 
the middle of the eighteenth century a young gentle- 
man in England wrote to his father in New Jersey, 
begging that he might " be favored with a young 
negro boy to present to the brother of the then 
Duke of Grafton, to whom he was under obliga- 
tions, as *a present of that kind would be very accept- 
able.'" 

Of course, the existence of slavery made the state 
of society in New Jer.sey and the other Colonies 
very different from what it is now ; and this differ- 
ence is strongly shown b\- the advertisements ot run- 
away negroes, which we can find in some old news- 
papers. It seems very strange to see in a Boston 
paper of one hundred years ago a picture of a 
black man running away with a bag over his shoul- 
der, and under the jiicture the statement of the re- 
ward which would be given for his capture ; and in 



S7 

the New Jersey papers there were frequent adver- 
tisements of runaway slaves and of negroes for sale. 
One of these, published in Burlington two years after 
the Colony had declared itself free and independent, 
reads as follows : — 

"To BE Sold — For no fault — but a saucy tongue for which 
he is now in Burlington jail — A negro man about 39 years of 
age. He is a compleat farmer, honest and sober. For further 
particulars enquire of the subscriber in Evesham, Burlington Co. 
Feb. 4. 1778." 

When Washington was in Morristown in 1777, one 
of his aids wrote a letter to a friend in Elizabeth- 
town, which states, — 

The General will esteem it as a singular favor if you can appre- 
hend a mulatto girl, servant and slave of Mrs. Washington, who 
eloped from this place yesterday, with what design cannot be con- 
jectured, though as she may intend to the enemy and pass your way 
I trouble you with the description : her name is Charlotte but in all 
probability will change it, yet may be discovered by question. She 
is light complected, about thirteen years of age, pert, dressed in 
brown cloth wescoat and petticoat. Your falling upon some method 
of recovering her should she be near you will accommodate Mrs. 
Washington and lay her under great obligations to you being the 
only female servant she brought from home and intending to be 
off to-day had she not been missing. A gentle reward will be given 
to any soldier or other who shall take her up. 

I am witli respect your most obedient servant 



After a time, negro slaves became so plentiful in 
New Jersey, that laws were passed restricting their 
importation, and a considerable tax was laid upon each 
African brought into the country. 



88 

Rut the negroes were not the only slaves in New 
Jersey during those early days. Here, as well as in 
many of the other Colonies, was a class of white peo- 
ple, generally from England, who were called " re- 
demptioners." These were poor people, although often 
persons of fairly good station and education, who de- 
sired to emigrate to America, but who could not afford 
to pay their passage. 

A regular system was then established, by which a 
poor person desiring to settle in New Jersey would 
be brought over free. When one of these emigrants 
took passage on a ship, he signed a contract which 
gave the captain of the vessel the right to sell him, as 
soon as he arrived in America, for enough money to 
pay his passage. This white man was thus bought, 
when he reached New Jersey, exactly as if he had been 
a negro slave; and he was subject to the same rules as 
those which governed other slaves. Of course, he was 
made the subject of great imposition; for the captain 
would naturally desire to get as large a sum of money 
as possible for each redcmptioner, and therefore would 
be perfectly willing to sell him for a long term. 

The people who owned redemptioners could sell 
them again if tliey chose ; and it often happened that 
some of them passed into the jiossession of several 
families before they finally served out the term for 
which they had been sold. All sorts of people be- 
came redemi^tioners, — mechanics, laborers, and even 
professional men. Among the jieople who sold them- 
selves into limited slaverv there were schoolmasters, 
and it is stated that at one time the supply of redemp- 



tioner schoolmasters was so great that they became 
a drug in the market. 

In the days before there were many regular schools 
in New Jersey, much of the education must have been 
carried on by what we now call private tutors ; and a 
schoolmaster who could be bought as if he had been 




a horse or a cow was often a very convenient i)iecc 
of property. If a family should own a teacher who 
was able only to instruct small children, it would be 
very easy, when these children grew older and able to 
undertake more advanced studies, to sell this primary 
teacher to some family where there were young pupils, 
and buy one capable of teaching higher branches. 
It is said that these redemptioners were often treated 



90 

much more harshly and cruelly than the negro slaves, 
and any one who assisted one of them to escape was 
severely punished. There was good reason for this 
difference in the treatment of the two classes of slaves ; 
for a negro was the property of his master as long 
as he lived, and it was manifestly the interest of the 
owner to keep his slave in good condition. But the 
redcmptioner could only be held for a certain time, 
and, if his master was not a good man, he would be 
apt to get out of him all the work that he could during 
the time of his service, and to give him no more food 
or clothing than was absolutely necessary. 

After a time there were laws made to protect the 
redemptioners. One of these was, that any j)erson 
sold after he was seventeen years old could not serve 
for more than four years ; and another provided, that, 
when a redemptioner's time of service had expired, his 
master should give him " two good suits of clothing, 
suitable for a servant, one good ax, one good hoe, 
and seven bushels of Indian corn." 

But although the redemjilioiicr sometimes fared very 
badly in the new country, it often hai)pened that he 
came out very well in the end. Among the white 
l)eojilc who came hero as slaves there were often con- 
victs and j)auj)ers ; but even some of these succeeded 
in bettering their condition and establishing themselves 
as good citizens, and in founding families. 

It often hnj-jpened that some of the Germans who 
came to biiv land and settle, chose rather to ])Ut away 
their money, and sell themselves as reilem|)tioners to 
I"!nglish families, so that they might leain the I'jiglish 



91 

language and manner of living. Then, when they had 
educated themselves in this practical manner, and their 
time of service was over, they could buy land, and 
establish themselves on terms of equality with their 
Enghsh neighbors. 

But the trade in redemptioners gradually decreased ; 
and by the middle of the eighteenth century there 
were not many of them left in New Jersey, although 
there were a few in the State until after the Revolu- 
tion. Negro slavery, however, continued much longer. 
It grew and flourished until it became a part of the 
New Jersey social system ; but it must not be sup- 
]:)Osed that all the people of the State continued to 
be satisfied with this condition of things. 

At first everybody who could afford it owned slaves, 
and the Friends or Quakers bought negroes the same 
as other people did ; but about the end of the seven- 
teenth century some of these Quakers began to think 
that proi)erty in human beings was not a righteous 
thing, and the Quakers of New Jersey united with 
those of Pennsylvania in an agreement recommend- 
ing to the members of the Society of Friends that 
they should no longer employ negro slaves, or, if the)' 
thought it best to continue to do this, that they should 
at least cease to import them. 

A strong party among the Quakers of New Jersey 
()j)p()sed slavery for many years, and the system was 
denounced at some of their yearly meetings ; and this 
went on until about the middle of the next century, 
when a law was made that no person owning slaves 
should continue in the Society of Friends. 



92 

As years passed on, people other than Quakers 
began to consider slavery an injustice and an evil; 
and this feeling gradually increased, until in the be- 
ginning of the nineteenth century it became very 
strong, and in 1820 an act was passed by the Legis- 
lature for the emancipation of the slaves. They were 
not set free all at once, and turned into the world to 
take care of themselves ; but a system of gradual 
emancipation was adopted, by which the young people 
obtained their freedom when they came of age, while 
the masters were obliged to take care of the old negroes 
as long as they lived. By this plan, slavery was very 
gradually abolished in New Jersey, so that in 1840 
there were still si.x hundred and seventy-four slaves 
in the State; and even in i860 eighteen slaves re- 
mained, and these must have been very old. 




A JERSEY TEA PARTY. 

AT the time when the American colonists began 
to be restless under the rule of Great Britain, 
the people of New Jersey showed as strong a desire 
for independence as those of any other Colony, and 
they were by no means backward in submitting to 
any privations which might be necessary in order to 
assert their principles. As has been said before, the 
people were prosperous, and accustomed to good living, 
and it was not likely that there was any part of 
America in which a cup of well-flavored tea was better 
appreciated than in New Jersey. 

But when the other colonists determined to resist 
unjust taxation, and resolved that they would not use 
tea, on which a heavy tax was laid without allowing 
the American people to have anything to say about 
it, the patriotic people of New Jersey resolved that 
they too would use no tea so long as this unjust tax 
was placed upon it. When the tea was destroyed in 
Boston Harbor, the Jersey patriots applauded the act, 
and would have been glad to show in the same way 
what they thought upon the subject. 

But when tea was shipped from England, it was 
sent to the great ports of Boston, New York, Phila- 
93 



94 

delphia, and Charleston ; and what was used in New 
Jersey came from these places after the consignees 
had paid the tax. However, to show their sympathy 
with the efforts which were being made at the sea- 
ports to prevent the landing of tea, the New Jersey 
people, that is, those who belonged to the Whig party, 
— which was the patriotic party, and opposed to the 
Tories, who favored England, — formed an associa- 
tion, the members of which bound themselves to buy 
or use no tea until the tax should be removed. 

There is a story told of Hugh Druni of Somerset 
County, who was so thoroughly in earnest on this 
subject, and who probably supposed that the weak 
little Colonies would always have to submit to the 
power of Great Britain, that he took an oath that 
never again during the rest of his life would he take 
a cup of tea ; and although he lived a great many 
years afterward, during which the Americans im- 
ported their own tea without regard to what any 
other country thought about it, Mr. Drum never 
again drank tea. 

But at last an opportunity came for patriotic Jer- 
seymen to show that they were not behind the other 
colonists in resisting the attempt of Great l^ritain to 
force upon them this taxed tea. 

Nearly a year after the tea had been thrown over- 
board in Boston Harbor, a vessel from England — 
loaded with tea, and bound to Philadelphia — put into 
Cohansey Creek, a small stream which runs into Dela- 
ware Bay, and anchored at the little town of Greenwich. 
This vessel, called the " Greyhound," was afraid to go 



95 

up to Philadelphia, because from that port tea ships 
were sent back to England as soon as they arrived, 
as was also the case in New York. So the captain 
of the "Greyhound" thought it would be a good plan 
to land his tea at Greenwich, from which place it 
could be taken inland to its destination. Here the 
cargo was unloaded, and stored in the cellar of a 
house opposite the open market place. 

This business of forcing tea upon the American 
colonists had become a very serious matter to Eng- 
land ; for the East India Company had now in their 
warehouses at London seventeen million pounds of 
tea, and, if there should be no sale for any of this 
in the American market, the loss would be very severe. 
Consequently every possible method was « resorted to, 
in order to have the tea landed on American soil ; it 
being believed, that, if the tea once got into the hands 
of the dealers, the people would overcome their preju- 
dices to its importation, and begin to use it again. 

Therefore the captain of the "Greyhound" thought 
he was doing a very sharp thing when he sailed up 
Cohansey Creek and unloaded his tea. That cargo 
was landed, and in those days an English captain of 
a tea ship might well be proud of having performed 
such a feat. 

But it is not likely that the captain of the " Grey- 
hound " had ever before sailed into a port of New 
Jersey, large or small, or had anything to do with 
Jerseymen ; for if he had, he would not have been 
so well satisfied with the result of the voyage. 

The people of Greenwich could not prevent the 



96 

landinj^ of the tea, for there was no orj^anized force 
at the place, nor could they order the "Greyhound" to 
turn round and go back to England; but they would 
not allow their town to be made use of as a j)ort of 
entry for this obnoxious merchandise, simply because 
it was a little town, and could not keep English ships 
out of its waters. A meeting of the patriotic citizens 
was held, and it was resolved that no tea should go 
out of Greenwich to comfort the bodies and contami- 
nate the principles of people in any part of the Colo- 
nies ; and they would show their British tyrants that 
it was just as unsafe to send tea into Cohansey 
Creek as it was to send it into the harbor of Bos- 
ton. 

Having come to this determination, they went im- 
mediately to work. A party of young men, about 
forty in number, was organized ; and in order to dis- 
guise themselves, or strike terror into anybody who 
might be inclined to oppose their undertaking, they 
were all dressed as Indians. They assembled in the 
market place, and then, making a rush to the house 
in which the tea was stored, they broke open the 
tloors, carried out the tea, split open the boxes in 
which it was contained, and made a great p'\\c of it 
in an open s])ace near by. 

When tea is dry and in good condition, it will burn 
very well, and it was not nian\' minutes before there 
was a magnificent bonfire near the market jilace in 
Greenwich ; and in all that town there was not one 
man who dared to altem])t to ])ut it out. Thus the 
cargo of the "Gievhound" went up in smoke to the 



97 

sk)'. It must have been a very hard thing for the 
good ladies of the town to sit in their houses and 
sniff the dehghtful odor, which recalled to their 
minds the cherished beverage, of which, perhaps, 
they might never again partake. But they were Jer- 
seywomen, of stout hearts and firm principles, and 
there is no record that any one of them uttered a 
word of complaint. 

But in every community there is at least one per- 
son in whose mind there is a little streak of the 
Ananias nature, and there was a man of that kind 
in Greenwich. His name w!is Stacks, and he was a 
great lover of tea ; moreover, he had a soul disposed 
to economy and thrift. Consequently it was very 
hard for him to stand by and see all that tea wasted ; 
and he thought it would be no harm — as he was 
not a merchant, and did not intend to exercise evil 
influences upon the people of America by inducing 
them to buy tea — if he ajij^ropriated to himself a 
little of this most desirable herb, which was to be 
burned and wasted before his very eyes. 

Whenever he had a chance, he slipped a little tea 
into some part of his clothes where he thought it 
would not be noticed, and so gradually loaded himself 
with a considerable stock of the herb. In fact, he 
stowed away so many handfuls of it, that, when the 
fire was over, his companions noticed that he had con- 
siderably increased in size ; and it was not long before 
his trick was discovered. We do not hear that he 
was compelled to empty out the tea, but we are told 
that ever after he went by the name of " Tea Stacks." 

vro. OK N.t. — 7 



This tea bonfire created a great stir, and although 
the patriotic party approved it, there were a great 
many Tories in the country who 
condemned it as a piece of 
outrageous violence and wanton 
waste. This latter opinion was 
so freely expressed, that the 
English owners of the cargo 
were encouraged to take legal 
steps against the men who de- 
X stroyed the tea. It was easy 
eno'ugh to do this : for the young 
fellows who had made the bon- 
J^'^^ -"^^^^^ ^\rv> fire were very proud of what 
^ ^ " they had done, and, instead of 
denying their connection with the 
burning of the tea, were always 
very ready to boast of it. 

When it was understood that 
the tea burners were to be prose- 
cuted, all the Whigs of the surrounding 
country determined to stand by ihem ; and 
they subscribed a large sum ol money 
to engage lawyers to defend their case. 
The strength of the popular feeling 
was shown by the fact, that, when the 
case was brought to court, the grantl 
Tea stacks. .^^^^ positively rcfuscd to bring a bill 

against these young men, although the judge insi.stcd 
that they should do so. The matter was thus post- 
jioned ; and as it was not long before the Colonies 




99 

broke out into open rebellion, and a period followed 
when Englishmen no longer brought suits in American 
courts, there was no further action in regard to the 
tea burning at Greenwich. 

Therefore, unless Mr. Stacks contrived to keep some 
of the tea which he carried off in his clothes, the 
good people of the neighborhood, if they drank tea 
at all, made it of the dried leaves of raspberries, or 
those of some other bush, which have something of 
a tea taste, and were thus enabled to have a hot 
beverage with their evening meal, with but a little 
strain upon their imaginations, and none at all on their 
consciences. 

In other neighborhoods, however, there were people 
who, although they were patriots and inclined to sup- 
port the cause of American liberty, could not see how 
such a little thing as drinking a cup of tea, if they 
happened to have it, could interfere with their regard 
and respect for the great principle of justice and 
independence. 

Of course, it was to be supposed that the Tories, 
who were opposed to this nonsense about independ- 
ence, were glad to buy tea and to drink it whenever 
they got the chance ; but it was expected that those 
who called themselves Whigs and patriots would 
stand by their party, and discountenance tea drinking. 
There is a story told of a man who lived in Bridge- 
town, who was a member of one of the Committees 
of Safety which were formed for the jnirpose of 
promoting the cause of American liberty. It was 
found out that this man and his family were in the 



lOO 

habit of drinking East India tea ; and when his fellow- 
committeemen asked him in regard to this matter, he 
boldly admitted that they all liked tea, that they drank 
tea, and that they intended to drink tea. 

This was a very serious matter, and the committee 
saw that it was necessary to take vigorous measures 
in regard to this peculiar case. At first they tried 
the force of argument; but all they could say to the 
man amounted to nothing. He had principles, and 
w^hat he considered very good principles; but he liked 
tea, and, having it in the house, he saw no harm in 
drinking it. So the teapot was on his table every day. 

Now, his fellow-committeemen held another meeting, 
and formally resolved that this unpatriotic patriot 
should be punished in a way which would make a 
powerful impression on him, and which would show 
the whole community how the Committee of Safety 
intended to stand firm in the position they had taken 
in resisting unjust legislation. It was resolved, that, 
so long as he and his family drank tea, the j^atriots 
of the neighborhood would have nothing to do witii 
him, they would not deal with him, nor would they 
associate with him or his. This was an early instance 
in America of what is known now as "boycotting." 

It was a very hard thing to be shut out from all 
dealing and connection witli his friends antl fellow- 
citizens, dud it was not long before the tea drinker 
made up his mind that the society and friendshij) of 
his neighbors was better even than the highest flavored 
cup of tea; and so he forniall)' acknowledged his error, 
begged the jxirdon of the conunittee, and promised that 



thereafter he would act in accordance with their rules 
and regulations ; and his family teapot was put away 
upon a high top shelf. 

But the time came, in a very few years, when the 
American people attended to their own taxation, and 
when this teapot, with all the others in the country, 
could be taken down and freely used without interfer- 
ence with law or conscience. 




THE STORY OF A SPY. 

WHEN a nation <]^oes to war with another, it is 
often necessary for the armies on each side 
to leave behind some of the high and noble princi- 
ples which may have governed them at home. Of 
course, war is bloody and cruel, and it almost always 
haj:)pens that the officers and soldiers are obliged to 
descend also to meanness and duplicity in order to 
succeed in their campaigns. 

One strong reason for this is the necessity for the 
employment of spies. It is always desirable for the 
commander of an army to know as far as possible 
the condition of the enemy's force, and what he is 
doing or intends to do. Consequently it is a com- 
mon thing to send spies into the enenn's nmks; and 
the better those sj^ies can deceive the soltliers of the 
other side, the more valuable will be their rejiort, if they 
are fortunate enough to get back into their own camp. 

Sometimes a spy will sneak into the enemy's lines, 
and make his obserxations in concealment and satetv ; 
but the most valuable sj)ies are those which enter an 
enemy's camj) j^retending sympathy and frienilship. A 
man who can do this well can find out a great deal. 

In every army a spy from the other side is re- 



I03 

garded as the worst of enemies, and if captured, his 
punishment is death. An impartial outsider might 
object to this severity, when it is considered that the 
army which punishes the spy may, at the same time, 
have spies of its own among the enemy. During 
the Revolution, Major Andre was executed because 
he came into the American lines as a spy, and at 
the same time General Washington was very glad to 
get a good spy to send into a British camp. 

There was a man named John Honey man, who 
acted with great success in this capacity on the 
patriotic side during the Revolution. Honeyman was 
a Scotch-Irishman, and was said to be a remarkably 
fine looking man. He was tall, strong, extremely 
active, and had a fine military bearing. He had no 
desire to become a soldier ; but he was forced into 
the British army, and came to this country in 1758, 
when Abercrombie came over to attack the French 
in Canada. Young Colonel Wolfe, who was after- 
wards the famous General Wolfe who fell at Quebec, 
had command of this army, and on the ship in which 
he sailed was John Honeyman. 

Military men are not as sure-footed as sailors on 
board a ship, which may be rolling and tossing on 
rough waters; and one day, as Colonel Wolfe was 
coming into the cabin, he tripped and fell when he 
was halfway down the companion way, and would 
probably have broken his neck, if it had not been 
that Honeyman happened to be at the bottom of the 
steps, and caught the colonel in his arms, thus saving 
him from injury. 



I04 

It is very satisfactory for a full-f^rown man, cs])e- 
cially one whose profession exposes him to accidents 
of various kinds, to be able to take into his service 
another man who is tall enough and stron<^ enou<;h 
to pick him up and carry him if it is necessary, and 
who is also quick-witted enough to know when he 
should interpose himself in case of danger. 

Honeyman's conduct on this occasion made an im- 
pression on Colonel Wolfe ; and when afterwards he 
was made general, he took the tall soldier into his 
bodyguard, and made him understand that, in times 
when danger might be apprehended, he was to be 
as near him as his duties would permit. 

When the great attack was made upon Quebec, 
Honeyman was one of the men who helped row the 
boat which carried Wolfe over the river ; and during 
this passage a cannon ball from the enemy struck 
an officer sitting very near Honeyman. and took off 
his head. Had this happened to Honeyman, it would 
have been a bad thing for New Jersey. 

When they reached the opposite side, Honeyman 
climbed the Heights of Abraham side b\' sitle with 
his brave conmiander ; and when, in tlie battle which 
followed, Wolfe was killed, it was Honeyman who 
bore him off the field. Thus the first and the last 
service which this strong man rendered to his military 
chief were very much the same. 

About a vear after this the war ended, and Honey- 
man received an honor, ibK- discharge. lie carried 
with him the good will and commendation of his offi- 
cers, but he also took something which he valued 



I05 

nioro than these. While he was with General Wolfe, 
that officer had given him letters expressing his good 
opinion of him, and these afterwards proved of great 
service. 

Honeyman went southward, and lived for some 
years in the American Colonies. He finally settled 
in Philade]]:)hia, where he married. When the Revo- 
lution broke out, his sympathies were entirely with 
the American side, but he did not immediately enlist 
in the American army. When Washington came to 
Philadelphia, Honeyman was very anxious to see 
him and consult with him. It was difficult for a 
man in the ordinary walks of life to obtain an inter- 
view with the commander in chief ; but Honeyman 
sent in the letters which General Wolfe had given 
him, and, after having read these, W^ashington was 
very ready to see the man of whom that general 
had such a high opinion. Washington soon dis- 
covered that Honeyman was a man of ])eculiar 
ability, and he had several interviews with him, 
although it is not known what was said at these 
times. 

Before very long, Honeyman took his family to 
Griggstown, in Somerset County, New Jersey, and 
there he hired a house and settled. From this jilace 
he went to Fort Lee, when Washington came into 
New Jersey with his army, and had an interview with 
the general ; and here, it is said, he made a regular 
contract with the commander in chief to become a spy 
on the American side. 

There were a good many Tories in the State, and, 



io6 

as Honcyman had once been a British soldier, it was 
easy enouj^h for him to make believe that he was a 
Tory, and so make friends with the Redcoats when he 
should have an opportunity. 

The plan concocted between Washington and H-oney- 
man was very carefully worked out in all its details. 
Honeyman was to let it be known that he was a Tory, 
and as soon as he thought it proper he was to leave 
his family and join the British. It was considered 
that the best thing he could do would be to engage 
in business as a butcher, and then, when he went 
over to the British, he could go about the country 
in search of cattle, and thus get a good idea of what 
was going on. 

He was to stay with the enemy until he discovered 
something important, and then he was to arrange mat- 
ters so that he should, apjiarently without knowing it, 
wander near the American lines, where he would be 
captured. It is said that Washington arranged, that, 
as soon as he should hear that Honeyman had gone 
over to the enemy, he would offer a reward for his 
arrest; but this reward would be ]xiid onlv in case the 
sup))osed traitor should be carried alive and unhurt 
to him. All this planning was necessary, because there 
was so much communication between the Tories and 
Whigs at that time, that, if it had been known on the 
American side that iioncNman had gone over as a 
spy, the fact would soon have been communicated to 
the l^ritish. 

Honeyman went over to the enemy, and started busi- 
ness as a butcher for the army, and, after having gone 



I07 

a good deal about the couiUr)- looking for cattle, he 
came to New Brunswick with the British arm\-. No- 
body had suspected that he was not a perfectly honest 
Tory, and he had been paying great attention to the 
condition of the British army, and to finding out every- 
thing which might be of use if reported to Washing- 
ton. Among other things, he discovered that the 
British forces then occupying Trenton were not under 
a strict state of discipline. It was winter ; the weather 
was cold ; apparently there was not much for them to 
do ; and discipline was in a rather lax state. Honeyman 
well understood the habits of the Redcoats, and he 
knew that during the holidays the soldiers would live 
in even a more free and easy manner than they were 
living then. 

Not only did he make himself well acquainted with 
the condition of the army, but he carefully studied 
the town of Trenton and its neighborhood, and, going 
about in every direction after cows and oxen, he learned 
the roads so well that he could make a very good map 
of them. Everything that could be of service to the 
American cause was jotted down in Honeyman's re- 
tentive memory ; and when he had found out every- 
thing that he could find out, he thought it was fully 
time that he should acquaint Washington with the state 
of affairs in the enemy's lines. 

He knew that there were American ]Mckcls on the 
Jersey side, some distance away ; and he started out 
in this direction as a greasy butcher, with a rope in 
one hand and a long whip in the other, looking for 
all the world like John Honeyman the Tory cattle- 



io8 



man, who, if he knew what was good for him, would 
better keep out of sight of the soldiers of the Amer- 
ican army. He walked a long distance down the river, 
and, though he may have seen cattle, he paid no atten- 
tion to them. His present object was not to capture 



anything and take it 
and taken away. 
distance what he had 



Q. 



away, but to be captured 
After a time he saw at a 
been looking for. Behind 
some bushes, 
but still quite 
plain to the eye 
of this prac- 
ticed soldier, 
were two cav- 
alrymen dis- 
mounted, and 
II one y m a n 
knew that thev 
were Ameri- 
cans. He con- 
tinued to walk 
towards tiiem 
until he came 
close to the spot where the two soldiers were standing. 

The moment their eyes fell upon him, they recog- 
nized him, and shouted to him to halt; but Honey- 
man was too gootl an actor to do that. If he wished 
to carry on the business in hanil. he must keep uj) 
his character as a TorN', and so he took to his long 
legs and ran like a deer. Hut the men jumped on 
their horses and were after him in a moment ; and as 




109 

horses' legs are a good deal better than human legs, 
no matter how long they may be, the flying buteher 
was soon overtaken. But even then he did not sur- 
render, but so laid about him with his whij) that he 
kept the two men at bay. Of course, if they had 
not known him, they would have shot him down ; but 
as Washington had issued a proclamation concerning 
him, and had especially insisted that he should be 
brought in alive, they did not wish to injure him. 
But the unequal fight did not continue long, and 
Honeyman was soon captured. The soldiers bound 
his arms, and, mounting him behind one of them, so 
carried him across the river to Washington's camp. 

When Money man was brought into the |)resence 
of the commander in chief, he pretended to be very 
much frightened ; and he would have been excusable 
if he had been really frightened, for in that little 
performance of his he had run a great many risks. 
After asking a few questions of this pretended traitor 
W'ashington told the guards to withdraw, and he had 
a jirivate conference which lasted over half an hour; 
and in that time it is |)robable that these two men 
did a great deal of talking. The information given 
was most valuable, and such as could have been fur- 
nished only by a man of extraordinary powers of 
observation. 

When he had kept IIf)neyman as long as was 
necessary, Washington called the guards, and told 
them to take the prisoner to a log cabin which was 
used as a military jail, and there to watch him care- 
fully during the night, and in the morning he would 



be tried by court-martial. Honeyman was taken to 
the prison, which had but one window and one door, 
and suj)per was given to him. He was locked in, 
and two sentinels went on guard outside the walls of 
the log^ house. 

In the middle of the night these men saw a fire 
burning not far from headquarters, and, fearing that 
it might prove dangerous to allow it to burn, they 
thought it their duty to run and put it out. This 
they did, and returned to the log house, where every- 
thing looked the same as they had left it. But in 
the morning, when they opened the door, there was 
no prisoner inside. 

It is said that the whole plan of this escape, prob- 
ably by means of the window, was arranged by 
Washington himself, but of this we are not certain. 
We know, however, that Washington looked ui)on 
Honeyman as one of the most valuable men in the 
emjiloy of the armv. and that he would take every 
means to prevent him from coming to harm on ac- 
count of this service. 

It was in consequence of the information that 
Honeyman, at the cost of such great risk and danger, 
had brought to Washington, that three da\s afterwards 
the Americans crossed the Delaware, attacked Tren- 
ton, routed the Hritisli. and thus gained one of the 
greatest and most important \ictoi-ies of the Revolu- 
tion. If it had been John 1 loiieNinan. instead of the 
British officer, who was struck liy a cannon ball 
crossing the St. Lawrence, it is likel\- that Washing- 
ton would not liave dared to attack the British army 



in Trenton, which, before his half hour's conversation 
with his spy, was believed to be entirely too strong 
to be meddled with by the Continental soldiers on 
the other side of the river. 

But the report which Honeyman had made to 
Washington was not the only service which he did 
to the American cause. Having left his peace prin- 
ciples at home, as he w^as bound to do if he wanted 
to act as a truly serviceable spy, he had more work 
before him. As soon as he got out of the log house, 
he ran from the camp, and, although he was fired at 
by a sentinel, he got safely away. He crossed the 
river on the ice whenever there was any, and w^hen 
he came to open water, he jumped in and swam, and 
so he got safely over into the British lines. 

There, wet and shivering, he demanded to be taken 
to the commander; and to him he told the dreadful 
story of how he had been captured by the American 
soldiers while he was looking for beef cattle, and 
how he had been taken to headquarters, questioned, 
and afterwards shut up in prison, to be shot in the 
morning, and how he had quietly escaped and come 
back to his friends. Colonel Rahl, who was in com- 
mand of the British, was delighted to get hold of 
this Tory butcher who had been taken prisoner by 
the Continentals, and he jnit him through a course 
of examination about the condition of the enemy. 

Of course, it was to the benefit of the Americans 
that the British should think their army as small and 
as weak as possible; and so Honeyman ga\e an 
account of the wretched condition of the American 



112 




soldiers, — how few they were, how badly they were 
armed, how miserably they were officered, and ht)w 
they were half starved and discouraged. He told 
this story so well, that he made the colonel laugh, 
and declare that there was no reason to apprehend 
any danger from such a pack of ragamuffins as 
.-. were collected together under Washington, and 
that, if anybody wished to keep 
Christmas in a jolly way in 
>?r^^: '^jS'^F' ^^^ camp, there was no rea- 
son why he should not do so. 
When Honeyman had 
REi'R m finished telling his tales, 
/ C^\, °^^ ^o O"^ army and an- 
( '^ other to the other, he 
'-^WX ^'^'-'^^' ^'""^^^ ^^ \\H)uld 
(1 ^"^ better for him to 
get out of the neigh- 
borhood, lie was 
quite sure that Wash- 
ington would take Trenton, 
and, if he should be found in 
that cit\- when it was captured, it 
might be hard for even the commander in chief to 
prevent him from being shot. So he hastened away 
to take refuge with the Hiitish in New Brunswick. 

il(>ne\nian hatl made himself so consjiicuous in 
tliat part ot the country as a Tory who was working 
as hard as he could for the benefit of the British by 
sujjplying I hem with beef, that all news about him 
was received with great interest. It was not long 







113 

before this story of how he had been eaptured by 
the American pickets, and afterwards escaped from 
the log prison, became generally known ; and the 
people of Griggstown, where his wife and family 
lived, were greatly excited, believing that Iloneyman 
had come there, and had concealed himself in his 
house. A mob collected in the neighborhood late 
one night, surrounded the house, and woke up the 
family with shouts and banging on the door. Mrs. 
Honeyman appeared, nearly frightened to death ; and 
some of the ringleaders told her that they knew 
that her Tory husband had come back, and was con- 
cealed inside ; and they vowed, that, if he did not 
come out and deliver himself up, they would burn 
the house and everything in it. 

She declared that he was not there, and that it 
had been a long time since she had seen him. But 
this was of no use. They persisted that he was 
inside, and that, if he did not come out very quickly, 
they would set fire to the house. It was of no use 
to reason with an excited mob, and, although Mrs. 
Honeyman said that they might come in and search 
the house for her husband, they would not listen to 
her. Perhaps one reason of this was, that Iloneyman 
was a dangerous man to look for, inside of his own 
house and in dark rooms. Mrs. Iloneyman saw tliat 
she must act quickly, or her home would be lost to her. 

She ran inside, and soon appeared with a pajier, 
which she gave to a man in the crowd with whom 
she was acquainted, and asked him to read it so that 
every one could hear. 

STO. OK N.J. 8 



It was not to be supposed that Mrs. Honeyman 
possessed a private riot act, which might be read in 
order to disperse a disorderly assembly ; but even the 
most disorderly people are generally possessed of 
great curiosity in regard to anything out of the com- 
mon, and they consented to put off the bonfire a few 
minutes, and hear what was to be read. What the 
angry crowd heard was as follows : — 

American Camp, New Jersey, 1776. 

To the good people of New Jersey, and all others w horn it may 
concern: It is hereby ordered that the wife and children of John 
Honeyman of Griggstown, the notorious Tory, now within the 
British lines and probably acting the part of a spy, shall be, and 
are hereby protected from all harm and annoyance from every 
quarter until further orders. But this furnishes no protection to 
Honeyman himself. 

Geo. Washington. 

Com. -in-Chief. 

This paper, which it is said Washington not only 
signed, but wrote with his own hand, had been given 
to Honeyman some time before, and he sent it to 
his wife in order that it might protect her in case 
of danger such as now threatened her. It was 
thought very likely that the people of Griggstown 
would become so incensed again.st the Tory butcher, 
that they might offer harm to his wife and family ; 
and Washington was, no doubt, glad to give what 
protection he could to the home of the man who, 
no matter how much he might have deceived other 
people, was always true to him and to the American 
cause. 



115 

When the crowd heard the communication from the 
commander in chief of the American army, ordering 
them to refrain from violence to Mrs. Honeyman and 
her family, they could not understand why it had been 
written ; but they understood very well what it com- 
manded, and so, grumbling a good deal, but not dar- 
ing to disobey, they dispersed, and left the wife of 
the spy in peace. 

This paper, of course, was cherished as a great prize 
by the Honeyman family, and remained in their pos- 
session for many years ; and it was indeed an heir- 
loom worth preserving. But, although it proved a 
safeguard for Mrs. Honeyman, it did not remove the 
prejudices against her husband, and for a long time 
after that it would have been a very unwise thing for 
Tory Honeyman to come to Griggstown. Of course, 
it would have been an easy thing for Washington to 
have publicly exonerated Honeyman from all charges 
of treason and Toryism, but this would not have served 
his purpose. There was still need of a competent spy 
in the British lines ; and there Honeyman remained 
during the rest of the war, always ready to give 
information to the commander whenever he could 
obtain it. 

When peace was proclaimed, Washington did not 
forget Honeyman, and he himself told the story of 
how this brave man became a Tory butcher for the 
sake of American independence, and of the great 
services he had rendered to the cause. Then, of 
course, Honeyman went home to his wife and family, 
and the people of Griggstown received him as if he 



Ii6 

had been a great hero. And in fact, looking at the 
matter from a war point of view, he deserved all 
the honors they could give him, for without his aid 
the battle of Trenton could never have been won ; and 
in fact he was more useful in that engagement than if 
he had been a regiment of soldiers. 

Honey man was no doubt a great man in Griggs- 
town. The people who had once threatened to burn 
down his house could not do enough for him. Those 
who once would not speak to his wife when they met 
her, now implored her to let them know what they 
could do for her, and it was not long before the popu- 
larity of the family increased to a wonderful degree. 

Several officers of rank who had heard of what 
Honeyman had done, came to see and talk with him ; 
and, more than that, Washington himself came to 
Griggstown, and i)aid a visit to his former spy. Such 
an honor was enough to make the once denounced 
Tory butcher the leading citizen of the town. Honey- 
man now became a prosperous man. and bought a 
large farm and reared a family of seven children, who 
grew up and ])Vospcreil ; and their descendants are now 
scattered all over the State. He himself lived to the 
good old age of ninet)-five, and died resjiected and 
honored by all, — never thought of as a spy. but only 
as a patriotic hero. 

It would ajtpear. Ironi the stories of those early 
tla\s. that wliene\er a man or woman acted a good 
part, and was truly of service to New jerse\-. he or 
she always lived to be very old, and left behind a 
vast number of descendants. 



A MAN WHO COVETED WASHINGTON'S 
SHOES. 

THE person whose story we arc now about to tell 
was not a Jerseyman ; but, as most of the inci- 
dents which make him interesting to us occurred in 
this State, we will give him the benefit of a few 
years' residence here. 

This was General Charles Lee, who might well 
have been called a soldier of fortune. He was born 
in England, but the British Isles were entirely too 
small to satisfy his wild ambitions and his roving 
disposition. There are few heroes of romance who 
have had such a wide and varied experience, and who 
have engaged in so many strange enterprises. He 
was a brave man and very able, but he had a fault 
which prevented him from being a high-class soldier; 
and that fault was, that he could not bear restraint, 
and was always restive under command of another, and, 
while always ready to tell other people what they 
ought to do, was never willing to be told what he 
ought to do. 

He joined the l^ritish army when he was a young 
man; and he first came to this country in 1757, when 
(General yVbercrombie brought over an army to fight 






the French. For three years, Lcc was engaged in the 
wilds and forests, doing battle with the Indians and 
the French, and no doubt he had all the adventures 
an ordinary person would desire. But this experience 
was far from satisfactory. 

When he left America, he went to Portugal with 
another British army, and there he fought the Span- 
ish with as much impetuosity as he had fought the 
French and Indians. 

Life was absolutely taste- 
less to Lee without a 
very strong sprinkle 
of variety. Conse- 
cjuently he now tried 
fighting in an entirely 
tlifferent field, and went 
mto politics. He be- 
c ime a Liberal, and with 
his voice fought the 
government for whom 
hi; had been previously 
fighting with his sword. 
But a few years of this satisfied him ; and then he 
went to Poland, where he became a member of the 
king's staff, and as a Polish officer disported himself 
for two years. 

It is very likely that in Turkey a high-spirited man 
would find more opportunities for lively adventure 
than e\cn in Poland. At an)- rate, Charles Lee 
thought so ; and to Tnrke\' lie w cut, and entered into 
the service of the Sultan. Here he distinguished 




himself in a company of Turks who were f:;uarding a 
great treasure in its transportation from Moldavia to 
Constantinople. No doubt he wore a turban and baggy- 
trousers, and carried a great scimiter, for a man of 
that sort is not likely to do things by halves when he 
docs them at all. 

Having had such peculiar experiences in various 
armies and various parts of the world, Lee thought 
himself qualified to occupy a position of rank in the 
British army, and, coming back to England, he en- 
deavored to obtain military promotion. But the gov- 
ernment there did not seem to think he had learned 
enough in Poland and Turkey to enable him to take 
precedence of English officers accu.stomed to command 
English troops, and it declined to put him above such 
officers, and to give him the place he desired. Lee was 
not a man of mild temper. He became very angry at 
the treatment he received, and, abandoning his native 
country again, he went to Russia, where the Czar 
gave him the command of a company of wild Cossacks. 
But he did not remain long with the Cossacks. Per- 
haps they were not wild and daring enough to suit his 
fancy, although there are very few fancies which would 
not be satisfied with the reckless and furious demeanor 
generally attributed to these savage horsemen. 

He threw up his command and went to Hungary, 
and there he did some fighting in an entirely differ- 
ent fashion. Not having any opportunity to distinguish 
himself upon a battlefield, he engaged in a duel ; and 
of course, as he was acting the part of a hero of 
romance, he killed his man. 



Huni^ary was not a suitable residence for him after 
the duel, and he went back to England, and there he 
found the country in a state of excitement in regard 
to the American Colonies. Now, if there was any- 
thing that Lee liked, it was a state of excitement, 
and in the midst of this political hubbub he felt as 
much at home as if he had been charging the ranks 
of an enemy. Of course, he took part against the 
government, for, as far as we know, he had always 
been against it, and he became a violent supporter of 
the rights of the colonists. 

He 'was so much in earnest in this matter, that in 
1773 he came to America to see for himself how 
matters stood. When he got over here, he became 
more strongly in favor of the colonists than he had 
been at home, and everywhere proclaimed that the 
Americans were right in resisting the unjust taxation 
claims of Great Britain. .As he had always been 
ready to lay aside his British birthright and become 
some sort of a foreigner, he now determined to be- 
come an American ; and to show that he was in ear- 
nest, he went down to Virginia and bought a farm 
there. 

Lee soon became acciuainted with peojile in high 
places in American politics ; and when the first Con- 
gress assembled, he was reach- to talk with its mem- 
bers, urging them to stand up for their riglits, and 
draw their swords and load their guns in defense of 
independence. It was quite natural, that, when the 
Revolution really began, a man who was so strongly 
in favor of the patriots, and had had so unnh uiilitary 



experience in so many different lands, should be al- 
lowed to take part in the war, and Charles Lee was 
appointed major general. 

This was a high military position, • — much higher, in 
fact, than he could ever have obtained in his own coun- 
try, — but it did not satisfy him. The position he 
wanted was that of commander in chief of the Ameri- 
can army ; and he was surprised and angry that it 
was not offered to him, and that a man of his ability 
should be passed over, and that high place given to 
a person like George Washington, who knew but little 
of war, and had no idea whatever how the thing was 
done in Portugal, Poland, Russia, and Turkey, and who 
was, in fact, no more than a country gentleman. 

All this showed that these Americans were fools, 
who did not understand their best interests. But as 
there was a good chance for a fight, and, in fact, a 
good many fights, and as a major-generalship was not 
to be sneered at, he accepted it, and resigned the com- 
mission which he held in the English army. 

He was doubtless in earnest in his desire to assist 
the Americans to obtain their independence, for he 
was always in earnest when he was doing anything 
that he was inclined to do. But he did not propose 
to sacrifice his own interests to the cause he had 
undertaken ; and as, by entering the American army, 
he risked the loss of his estate in England, he arranged 
with Congress for compensation for such loss. 

But, although General Lee was now a very ardent 
American soldier, he could not forgive Mr. Washing- 
ton for takinjr command above him. If that Virginia 



122 

gentleman had had the courtesy and good sense which 
were generally attributed to him, he would have re- 
signed the supreme command, and, modestly ste])j)ing 
aside, would have asked General Lee to accept it. At 
least, that was the opinion of General Charles Lee. 

As this high and mighty soldier was so unwilling 
to submit to the orders of incompetent people, he 
never liked to be under the direct command of Wash- 
ington, and, if it were possible to do so, he managed 
to be concerned in operations not under the immediate 
eye of the commander in chief. In fact, he was very 
jealous indeed of Washington, and did not hesitate to 
express his opinion about him whenever he had a 
chance. 

The American army was not very successful in Long 
Island, and there was a time when it fared very badly 
in New Jersey; and Lee was not slow to declare that 
these misfortunes were owing entirely to the ignorance 
of the man who was in command. Moreo\-er. if there 
was any one who wanted to know if there was another 
man in the Colonies who could command the army 
better, and lead it more certainly and speedily to 
victory, General Lee was aKva\s readv to mention an 
e.\j)erienced soldier who would be able to jierform that 
duty most admirably. 

If it had not been for this unfortunate and jealous 
disposition, Charles Lee — a very different man from 
"Light Morse Harry" Lee — would ha\e been one 
of the most usetul officers in the .American arnn'. 
l^ut he had such a jealousy of Washington, and hoped 
so continually that something would happen which 



123 

would give him the jjlace then occupied by the Vir- 
ginia country gentleman, that, although he was at 
heart an honest patriot, he allowed himself to do 
things which were not at all patriotic. He wanted to 
see the Americans successful in the country, but he 
did not want to see all that happen under the leader- 
ship of Washington ; and if he could put an obstacle 
in the way of that incompetent person, he would do 
it, and be glad to see him stumble over it. 

In the winter of 1776, when the American army 
was making its way across New Jersey, towards the 
Delaware River, with Cornwallis in pursuit, Washing- 
ton was anxiously looking for the troops, under the 
command of General Lee, who had been ordered to 
come to his assistance ; and if ever assistance was 
needed, it was needed then. But Lee liked to do his 
own ordering, and, instead of hurrying to help Wash- 
ington, he thought it would be a great deal better to 
do something on his own account ; and so he endeav- 
ored to get into the rear of Cornwallis's army, think- 
ing, that, if he should attack the enemy in that way, 
he might possibly win a startling victory, which would 
cover him with glory, and show how much better a 
soldier he was than that poor Washington who was 
retreating across the country, instead of boldly turn- 
ing and showing fight. 

If Lee had been a true soldier, and had consci- 
entiously obeyed the commands of his superior, he 
would have joined Washington and his army without 
delay, and a short time afterward would have had 
an opportunity of taking part in the battle of Tren- 



124 

ton, in which the X'irginia country gentleman de- 
feated the British, and gained one of the most impor- 
tant victories of the war. 

Lee pressed slowly onward — ready to strike a 
great blow for himself, and unwilling to help any- 
body else strike a blow — until he came to Morris- 
town ; and, after staying there one night, he pro- 
ceeded in the direction of Basking Ridge, a pretty 
village not far away. Lee left his army at Bernards- 
ville, which was then known as Vealtown, and rode 
on to l^asking Ridge, accompanied only by a small 
guard. There he took lodgings at an inn, and made 
himself comfortable. The next morning he did not 
go and i)Ut himself at the head of his army and 
move on, because there were various affairs which 
()ccui)ied his attention. 

Several of his guard wished to speak to him, some 
of them being men from Connecticut, who appeared 
before him in full-bottomed wigs, showing jilainly 
that they considered themselves i)eoi)le who were 
imi)ortant enough to ha\-e their complaints attended 
to. One of them wanted his horse shod, another 
asked for some money on account of his pay, and a 
third had something to say about rations. Bui (ien- 
eral Lee cut them all off \-erv shortly witii, " \'ou 
want a great deal, but you ha\e not mentioned what 
you want most. Vou want to go home, and I should 
be glad to let you go, for you are no good here." 
Then his adjutant general asked to see him ; and he 
had a visit from a Major Wilkinson, who arrived tliat 
morniuL: with a letter from (leneral (iates. 



125 

All these things ()ccui)iccl him very much, and he 
did not sit down to hreaktast till ten o'clock. Shortly 
after they had finished their meal, and Lee was 
writing a letter to General Gates, in which he ex- 
pressed a very contemptible opinion of General Wash- 
ington, Major Wilkinson saw, at the end of the lane 
which led from the house down to the main road, a 
partv of British cavalry, who dashed round the cor- 
ner toward the house. The major immediately called 
out to General Lee that the Redcoats were coming; 
but Lee, who was a man not to be frightened by 
sudden reports, finished signing the letter, and then 
jumjied up to see what was the matter. 

Bv this time the dragoons had surrounded the 
house ; and when he perceived this, General Lee 
naturally wanted to know where the guards were, and 
why they did not fire on these fellows. But there 
was no firing, and apparently there were no guards ; 
and when Wilkinson went to look for them, he found 
their arms in the room which had been their quar- 
ters, but the men were gone. These private soldiers 
had evidently been quite as free and easy, and as 
bent upon making themselves comfortable, as had 
been the general, and they had had no thought that 
such a thing as a British soldier was anywhere in 
the neighborhood. When Wilkinson looked out of 
the door, he saw the guards running in every diiec- 
tion, with dragoons chasing them. 

What all this meant, nobody knew at first ; and 
Wilkinson supjjosed that it was merely a band ol 
marauders of the ]5ritish arm\-, who were making a 



126 

raid into the country to get what they could m the 
way of pkmdcr. It was not long before this was 
found to be a great mistake ; for the officer in com- 
mand of the dragoons called from the outside, and 
demanded that General Lee should surrender himself, 
and that, if he did not do so in five minutes, the 
house would be set on fire. 

Now, it was plain to everybody that the British 
had heard of the leisurely advance of this American 
general, and that he had left his command and come 
to Basking Ridge to take his ease at an inn, and so 
they had sent a detachment to capture him. Soon 
the women of the house came to General Lee, and 
urged him to hide himself under a feather bed. 
They declared that they would cover him uj) so that 
nobody would suspect that he was in the bed ; then 
they would tell the soldiers that he was n(>t there, 
and that they might come and search the house if 
they chose. 

liut although Lee was a jealous man and a hasty 
man, he had a soul abo\e such behaxior as this, and 
would not hide himself in a feather bed ; but, as there 
was no honorable way of esca])e. he boldlv came ior- 
ward and surrendered himself. 

The British ga\e him no time to make an\' jirejia- 
rations for departure. The\- did not know but that 
his army might be on the wa\- to Basking Ridge; 
and the sooner the\- were off, the lietter. So they 
made him jump on MmJoi" WilkinsoiTs horse, which 
was tied by the door; and in his slipjiers and dress- 
ing gown, and without a hat, this bold soldier of wide 



12/ 

experience, who thoui^ht he should be commander 
in chief of the American army, was hurried away at 
full gallop. He was taken to New York, where he 
was put into prison. It is said that Lee plotted against 
America during his imprisonment ; but General Wash- 
ington did not know that, and used every exertion to 
have him exchanged, so that his aspiring rival soon 
again joined the American army. 




But his misfortune had no good effect upon Gcn- 
eral Charles Lee, who came back to his command with 
as high an o]:)inion of himself, and as low an opinion 
of certain other people, as he had had when he in- 
voluntarily left it. It was some time after this, at 
the battle of Monmouth Court House, that Charles 
Lee showed what sort of a man he really was. He 
had now become so jealous that he positive))- deter- 



128 

mined that he would not obey orders, and would act 
as he thout^ht best. He had command of a bod)- of 
troops numbering five thousand, a good-sized army 
for those days, and he was ordered to advance to 
Monmouth Court House and attack the enemy who 
were there, while Washington, with another force, 
would hasten to his assistance as rapidly as jjossible. 

Washington carried out his part of the plan ; but 
when he had nearly reached Monmouth, he found, to 
his amazement, that Lee had gone there, but had done 
no fighting at all, and was now actually retreating, and 
coming in his direction. As it would be demoralizing 
in the highest degree to his own command, if Lee's 
armed forces in full retreat should come upon them, 
Washington hurried forward to prevent anything of 
the sort, and soon met Lee. When the latter was asked 
what was the meaning of this strange proceeding, he 
could give no good reason, excejit that he thought 
it better not to risk an engagement at that time. 

Then the Virginia country gentleman blazed out at 
the soldier of fortune, and it is said that no one ever 
heartl George Washington speak to any other man as 
he spoke to General Lee on that day. He was told to 
go back to his command and to obey orders, and to- 
gether the American forces moved on. In the battle 
which followed, the enemy was repulsed ; Init the 
viotor\' was not so complete as it should iia\e been, 
for the British de])arted in the night anil went where 
they intended to go, williout being cut olf by the 
American armv, as would li;i\c been the case il Lee 
had ol)e\ed the ordcis which were gi\en him. 



129 

(icncral Lee was very angry at the charges which 
Washington had made against him, and demanded that 
he should be tried by court-martial. His wish was 
granted. He was tried, and found guilty of every 
charge made against him, and in consequence was 
suspended from the army for one year. 

But Charles Lee never went back into the Ameri- 
can army. Perhaps he had had enough of it. In any 
event, it had had enough of him ; and seven years after- 
wards, when he died of a fever, his ambition to stand 
in Washington's shoes died with him. While he lived 
on his Virginia farm, he was as impetuous and eccen- 
tric as when he had been in the army, and he must 
have been a very unpleasant neighbor. In fact, the 
people there thought he was crazy. This opinion was 
not changed when his will was read, for in that 
document he said, — 

" I desire most earnestly that I may not be buried 
in any church or churchyard, or within a mile of 
any Presbyterian or Anabaptist meetinghouse ; for 
since I have resided in this country I have kept so 
much bad company when living, that I do not' choose 
U) continue it when dead." 




THE MAN IN THE "AUGER HOLE." 

WHEN wc consider the American Revolution, we 
are apt to think of it as a great war in which 
all the inhabitants of the Colonies rose up against (ireat 
Britam, determined, no matter what might be the hard- 
ships and privations, no matter what the cost in blood 
and money, to achieve their indej^endence and the right 
to govern themselves. 

l^ut this was not the case. A great majority of the 
people of the Colonies were ardently in favor of inde- 
pendence ; but there were also a great many jieojjle, 
and we have no right to say that some of them were 
not very good jieople, who were as well salistied that 
their country should be a colony of Great Britain as 
the Canadians arc now satisfied with that state of 
things, and who \vere earnestly and honestly ojiposed 
to any separation from the mother countrw 

This difference of oi)inion was the cause of great 
trouble ami bloodshed among the colonists themselves, 
and the contests between the Tories and the Whigs 
were nowhere more bitter than in New Jersew In 
some parts of the Colony, families were diyided against 
themsehes ; and not onl\' did tliis result in ipiarrels and 
separations, but fathers ami sons, and brothers and 



brothers, fought against each other. At one time the 
Tories, or, as they came to be called, " refugees," were 
in such numbers that they t(K)k possession of the town 
of Freehold, and held it for more than a week ; and 
when at last the town was retaken by the patriotic 
forces, most of them being neighbors and friends of 
the refugees, several prominent Tories were hanged, 
and many others sent to i)rison. 

The feeling between the Americans of the two dif- 
ferent parties was more violent than that between the 
patriots and the British troops, and before long it 
became entirely unsafe for any Tory to remain in his 
own home in New Jersey. Many of them, went to 
New York, where the ]:)atriotic feeling was not so 
strong at that time, and there they formed themselves 
into a regular military company called the " Associated 
Loyalists ; " and this company was commanded by 
William Temjile Franklin, son of the great Benjamin 
Franklin, who had been ap])ointed governor of New 
Jersey by the British Crown. He was now regarded 
with great hatred by the patriots of New Jersey, be- 
cause he was a strong Tory. This difference of opinion 
between William Franklin and his father was the most 
noted instance of this state of feeling which occurred 
in those days. 

It will be interesting to look ujion this great contest 
from a different point of view than that fiom which 
we are accustomed to regard it ; and some extracts from 
the journal of a New Jersey lady who was a decided 
Tory, will give us an idea of the feeling and condition 
of the people who were opposed to the Revolution. 



132 

This lady was Mrs. Margaret Hill Morris, who lived 
in Burlington. She was a Quaker lady, and must have 
been a person of considerable wealth ; for she had pur- 
chased the house on Green Bank, one of the prettiest 
parts of Burlington, overlooking the river, in which 
Governor Franklin had formerly resided. This was a 
fine house, and contained the room which afterwards 
became celebrated under the name of the " Auger 
Hole." This had been built, for what reason is not 
known, as a place of concealment. It was a small room, 
entirely dark, but said to be otherwise quite comforta- 
ble, which could be approached only through a linen 
closet. In order to get at it, the linen had to be taken 
from the shelves, the shelves drawn out, and a small 
door opened at the back of the closet, quite low down, 
so that the dark room could only be entered by stooping. 

In this "auger hole," Mrs. Morris, who was a strong 
Tory, but a very good woman, had concealed a refugee 
who at the time was sought for bv the adherents of 
the jxitriotic side, and who probablv would lia\c had 
a haid lime «)f it if he had been caugiit, for he was 
a person of considerable importance. 

The name of the refugee was Jonathan Oilell, and 
he was rector of St. Mary's Church in Burlington. 
He was a learned man, being a doctor as well as a 
clergyman, and a \er\- strong Toiv. He had been 
of much service to the peo|)le ot Biiilington; for when 
the Hessians had attacked the town, he iiad come 
forward and interceded with their commander, and 
had done his work so wi'll that the soldiers were for- 
l)i(klen to pillage the town. lUil wlien the Hessians 



133 

left, the American authorities began a vigorous search 
for Tories ; and Parson Odell was obHged to conceal 
himself in good Mrs. Morris's "auger hole." 

Mrs. Morris was apparently a widow who lived 
alone with her two boys, and, having this refugee in 
her house, she was naturally very nervous about the 
movements of the American troops and the actions 
of her neighbors of the opposite party. 

She kept a journal of the things that hap]:)ened 
about her in those eventful days, and from this we 
will give some extracts. It must be understood that 
in writing her journal, the people designated as the 
"enemy" were the soldiers under Washington, and 
that " gondolas " were American gunboats. 

"From the 13th to the i6th we had various reports of the ad- 
vancing and retiring of the enemy ; parties of armed men rudel\' 
entered the town and dihgent search was made for tories. Some of 
the gondola gentry broke into and pillaged Rd Smith's house on 
tlie bank. About noon this day [16th] a very terrible account of 
tliousands coming into the town, and now actually to be seen on 
Gallows Hill : my incautious son caught up the s])yglass, and was 
running towards the mill to look at them. I told him it would be 
liable to misconstmction." 

The journal states that the boy went out with the 
spyglass, but could get no good place from which he 
could see Gallows Hill, or any troops upon it, and 
so went down to the river, and thought he would take 
a view of the boats in which were the American 
troops. He rested his sj^yglass on the low limb of 
a tree, and with a boyish curiosity inspected the 
various boats of the little fleet, not suspecting that 
any one would object to such a harmless proceeding. 



134 

But the i)cnplc on the boats saw him, and did object 
very much ; and the consequence was, that, not loni; 
after he reached his mother's house, a small boat 
from one of the vessels came to shore. A party of 
men went to the front door of the house in which 
they had seen the boy enter, and bci^an loudl}' to 
knock upon it. Poor Mrs. Morris was half fright- 
ened to death, and she made as much delay as pos- 
sible in order to compose her features and act as if 
she had never heard of a refugee who wished to hide 
himself from his pursuers. In the mild manner in 
which Quaker women are always supposed to speak, 
she asked them what they wanted. They quickly told 
her that they had heard that there was a refugee, to 
whom they applied some very strong language, who was 
hiding somewhere about here, and that they had seen 
him spying at them with a glass from behind a tree, 
and afterwards watched him as he entered this house. 

Mrs. Morris declared that they were entirely mis- 
taken ; that the person they had seen was no one but 
her son, who had gone out to look at them as any 
boy might do, and who was perfectly innocent of any 
designs against them. The men may have been 
satisfied with this explanation in regaid to her son ; 
but they asserted that they knew that there was a 
refugee concealed somewhere in that neighborhood, 
and they believed that he was in an emj^ty house near 
by, of which they were told she had the key. Mrs. 
Morris, who had given a signal, i)reviously agreed upon, 
to the man in the "auger hole," to keep very quiet, 
wished to gain as much time as i)()ssible, and exclaimed, 



135 



" Bless mc ! I hoj:)C you arc not Hessians." 

"Do we look like Hessians?" asked one of them 
rudely. 

" Indeed, I don't know." 

" Did you ever see a Hessian .? " 

" No, never in my life ; but they are men, and you 
are men, and may be Hessians, for anything- I know. 
But I will go with you into 
Colonel Co.x's house, ^ ^^55* ^^ - 

though indeed it was 
my son at the mill ; 
he is but a boy, and 
meant no harm ; he 
wanted to see the 
troops." 

So she took the 
key of the empty 
house referred to. 
and went in ahead 
of the men, who 
searched the place 
thoroughly, and, 
after finding no ^ _ 

place where anybod\' ''■" ^ ^ " 
could be, they searched 

one or two of the houses adjoining ; but for some 
reason they did not think it worth while to go through 
Mrs. Morris's own house. Had they done so, it is not 
prolxd)le that the good lady could have retained her 
composure, especially if they had entered the room in 
which was the linen closet ; for, even had they been 




136 

completely deceived by the piles of sheets and pillow- 
cases, there is no knowing but that the unfortunate 
man in the "auger hole" might have been inclined 
to sneeze. 

But although she was a brave woman, and very 
humanely inclined, Mrs. Morris felt she could not any 
longer take the risk of a refugee in her house. And 
so that night, after dark, she went u]) to the parson 
in the "auger hole," and made him come out; and 
she took him into the town, where he was concealed 
by some of the Tory citizens, who were better adapted 
to take care of the refugee than this lone Quaker 
woman with her two inquisitive boys. It is believed 
that soon after this he took refuge in New York, 
which was then in the hands of the ]?ritish. 

Further on in the journal, Mrs. Morris indulges in 
some moral reflections in regard to the war in which 
her countrymen were engaged, and no one of right 
feeling will object to her sentiments. 

"Jan. 14. I hear Gen. Howe sent a request to Washington de- 
siring three days cessation of arms to take care of the wounded, and 
bury the dead, which was refused : wliat a woeful tendency war has 
to harden the human heart against the tender feelings of humanity. 
Well may it be called a horrid art thus to change tlie nature of man. 
I thought that even barbarous nations had a sort of religious regard 
for their dead." 

After this the journal contains many references to 
warlike scenes on the river and warlike sounds from 
the country arouml. Numbers of gondolas filled with 
soldiers went up and down the river, at times cannon 
from distant points firing alarums. At other times the 



137 

roaring of great guns from a distance, showing that a 
battle was going on, kept the people of Burlington in 
a continual excitement ; and Mrs. Morris, who was en- 
tirely cut off from her relatives and friends, several of 
whom were living in Philadelphia, was naturally very 
anxious and disturbed in regard to events, of which 
she heard but little, and perhaps understood less. 

One day she saw a number of gunboats, with flags 
flying and drums beating, that were going, she was 
told, to attend a court-martial at which a number of 
refugees, men of her party, were to be tried by Gen- 
eral Putnam ; and it was believed that if they were 
found guilty they would be executed. 

After a time, Mrs. Morris found an opportunity of 
showing, that, although in principle she might be a 
Tory, she was at heart a good, kind Quaker lady 
ready to give help to suffering people, no matter 
whether they belonged to the side she favored or to 
that which she opposed. 

Some of the people who came up the river in the 
gunboats — and in many cases the soldiers brought 
their wives with them, probably as cooks — -were taken 
sick during that summer ; and some of these inva- 
lids stopped at l^urlington, being unable to proceed 
farther. 

Here, to their surprise, they found no doctors ; for 
all the i^atriots of that profession had gone to the army, 
and the Tory j)hysicians had departed to the British 
lines. J)ut, as has been said before, the women in 
the early days of New Jersey were often obliged to 
be physicians ; and among the good housewives of 



138 



Burlington, who knew all about herb teas, homemade 
plasters, and potions, Mrs. Morris held a high position. 
The sick Continentals were told that she was just as 
good as a doctor, and, besides, was a very kind woman, 
always ready to help the sick and suffering. 

So some of the sick soldiers came to her ; and from 

what Mrs. Morris wrote, one or two of them must 

y. have been the same men who had 

]ireviously come to her house and 

threatened the life of her boy, who 

had been looking at them with a 

spyglass. But now they very 

meekly and humbly asked 

her ,to come and attend 

their jioor comrades 

who were unable to 

move. At first Mrs. 

Morris thought this 

was some sort of a 

trick, and that they 

wanted to get her on 

board of one of the gunboats, 

and carry hef away. But when 

'' ■ ' she found that the sick peojile were 

in a house in the town, she consented to go and do 

what she could. So she took her bottles with her. and 

her boxes and her herbs, and visited the sick jjcoiile, 

several of whom she tound were women. 

They were all alllicted with some .sort of a fever, 
probably of a malarial kind, contracted from living 
day and nighl on board of i)oals without proper pro- 




WW'-^ 



139 

tection ; and, knowini;- just what to do in such cases, 
she, to use her own expression, "treated them accord- 
ing to art," and it was not long before they all 
recovered. 

What happened in consequence of this hospital 
work for those whom she considered her enemies, is 
thus related by Mrs. Morris: — 

'• I thought 1 had received all my pay when they thankfully 
acknowledged all my kindness, but lo! in a short time afterwards, 
a very rough, ill-looking man came to the door and asked for me. 
When I went to him, he drew me aside and asked me if 1 had any 
friends in Philadelphia. The question alarmed me, supposing that 
there was some mischief meditated against that poor city ; however, 
I calmly said, ' I have an ancient father-in-law, some sisters, and 
other near friends there.' 'Well,' said the man, Mo you wish to 
hear from them, or send anything by way of refreshment to them? 
If you do, I will take charge of it and bring you back anything you 
may send for.' I was very much surprised, to be sure, and thought 
lie only wanted to get provisions to take to the gondolas, when he 
told me his wife was one I had given medicine to, and this was the 
only thing he could do to pay me for my kindness. My heart 
leaped for joy, aud I set about preparing something for my dear 
absent friends. A quarter of beef, some veal, fowls, and flour, were 
soon put up, and about midnight the man came and took them away 
in his lioat.'' 

Mrs. Morris was not mistaken in trusting to the 
good intentions of this grateful Continental soldier, 
for, as she says, two nights later there came a loud 
knocking at the door : — 

" Opening the chamber window, we heard a man's voice saying, 
'Come down softly and open the door, but bring no light.' There 
was something mysterious in such a call, and we concluded to go 
down and set the candle in the kitchen. When we got to the front 
door we asked, 'Who are you?' The man replied, *A friend; 



140 

open quickly : ' so the door was opened, and who should it be but 
our honest gondola man with a letter, a bushel of salt, a jug ot' 
molasses, a bag of rice, some tea, coffee, and sugar, and some cloth 
for a coat for my poor boys — all sent by my kind sisters. How 
did our hearts and eyes overflow with love to them and thanks to 
our Heavenly P^ather for such seasonable supplies. May we never 
forget it. Being now so rich, we thought it our duty to hand out 
a little to the poor around us, who were mourning for want of .salt, 
so we divided the bushel and gave a pint to every poor person who 
came for it, and had a great plenty for our own use." 

As the war drew to its close and it became plain 
to every one that the cause of the patriots must tri- 
umph, the feeling between the two parties of Amer- 
icans became less bitter; and the Tories, in manv 
cases, saw that it would be wise for them to acce])t 
the situation, and become loyal citizens of the United 
States of America, as before they had been loyal 
subjects of Great Britain. 

When peace was at last ]-)roclaimed, those Tories 
who were prisoners were released, and almost all of 
them who had owned farms or est^ites had them 
returned to them, and Mrs. Morris could visit her 
"ancient father-in-law" and her sisters in Philadel- 
j:)hia, or they could come u|) the river and visit her 
in her house on the beautiful Green Bank at liiuling- 
ton, without fear or thought of those fellow-coimtry- 
men who li;ul been theii- bitter enemies. 



THE STORY OF TWO CAPTAINS. 

DURING the Revolution, New Jersey had a very 
hard time, harder in some ways than many of 
her sister States. This may be accounted for by the 
fact that much of her territory lay between the two 
important cities of Philadelphia and New York, and 
that it was therefore liable to be the scene of frequent 
battles and marches. In fact, it often happens that 
the march of an enemy through a quiet country is 
almost as bad as a disastrous battle. 

Country ])eople and farmers, especially those of fruit- 
ful and prosi)erous countries, are generally much more 
opposed to war than people in cities; and so it hap- 
l)ened in New Jersey. When the Revolution began, 
there were a good many people who did not care ])ar- 
ticularly about taxation, who had been happy and 
comfortable all their days, without any thought of 
independence, and who saw no reason why they should 
not continue to be so; and these did not immediately 
spring to arms when the first guns of the war were 
fired. There were no large cities in New Jersey. It 
was a rural commimitv, a country of peaceable peoj^le. 

When the British troops first entered New Jersey, 
and before any battles had been fought, the commander 



142 

in chief took advanta_f^c of this state of feeling, and 
endeavored as far as possible to make the people think 
that the Redcoats were in reality good friends, and 
intended them no harm. He protested, whenever he 
had a chance, that when these disturbances were over, 
any complaints that the peoj^le had to make in regard 
to the laws made by their l^nglish rulers, should be 
carefully attended to, and their grievances redressed 
as soon as possible. 

As has been said before, a great many of the peo- 
ple of the Colony were in favor of continuance of the 
British rule, and from these arose that Tory party 
which afterwards caused so much bitterness of feeling 
and bloody contention. But there were also others, 
who, although they were not Tories, were not in favor 
of fighting if it could be hcli)ed, and these the British 
commander most wished to conciliate. He issued a 
great many printed papers of protection, which he 
gave to those who had not yet taken sides against 
the Crown. The people who received these were 
assured, that, so long as they had them to show, no 
Redcoat soldier would in any way disturb them or their 
property. 

But when the luiglish army actually spread itself 
over the country and the soldiei-s began to forage 
about to see what they could find to eat and drink 
better than their rations, the Jersey farmers frequently 
discovered that these papers of protection were of no 
use at all. If shown to one of the Hessians, who 
were more dreaded than the other S(Wdiers of the 
l^ritish army, the Cierman could not reatl a woril of it, 



143 

and paid no attention to it. He wanted ducks and 
<;"ecse, and took them. And after a time the KngHsh 
soldiers determined that the Hessians shoidd not take 
all they wanted while they stood by and had nothing, 
and so they began to pillage, without regard to the 
little printed papers which the angry farmers showed 
them. 

This state of things had a very good effect upon 
the rural population of New Jersey ; and as the con- 
duct of the British soldiers became more lawless, so 
did the determination to resist such outrageous actions 
become stronger and stronger in the hearts of the 
people of the country, and they readily listened to the 
calls to arms which were made by Washington and 
by Congress. The people who were in favor of 
the Revolution and independence stood together and 
formed themselves on one side, while those who were 
still loyal to the King formed themselves on the other. 
And thus, with both the Tories and the British against 
them, the citizens of New Jersey began in good earnest 
to fight for their liberties. 

In the war which was now waged in New Jersey, 
it very often happened that the British soldiers had 
no part whatever; and although the battles and skir- 
mishes between the Tories and the Whigs were gen- 
erally small and of no great importance, they were 
always violent and bloody. Sometimes the forces on 
each side were ■ considerable enough to entitle the 
affair to be called a battle. The forces of the Whigs 
or patriots in these encounters were almost always 
composed of the militiamen of the State, who had not 



144 

joined the regular army, but who had enlisted for the 
purpose of defending their own homes and farms. In 
various parts of the country there were men who, 
some on one side and some on the other, had distin- 
guished themselves as soldiers. 

One of the most prominent of these was a Captain 
Huddy of Monmouth County. He had command of 
a company of militiamen, and he made himself very 
formidable to the bodies of Tories who had formed 
themselves in the country, and his name and fame as 
a great fighter began to spread over that part "of the 
State. He lived in a good-sized house, for that time, 
in the village of Colt's Neck, and in this house he 
genci-ally kept ])art of his command. 

But one evening he happened to bo at home with- 
out any one with him except a servant, a negro girl 
about twenty years old. His men had all gone away 
on some errand, and the fact that the captain was 
at home by himself became known to some Tories in 
the neighborhood. These, led by a mulatto named 
Tye, made an attack upon his house. 

lUit although Captain lluddv's men were all awa\-. 
lliey had left their guns behind ; and so the bra\-e 
Huddy, instead of surrendering to the force of fifty 
or si.xty Tories who were outside, determined to tight 
them, witli no garrison but himself and the negro 
girl, and he made ready to hold his house as long 
as he could. The girl loaded the guns; and Huddv. 
running from one window to another, fired at the 
Tories so ra])i(lly and with sucli good effect, that 
they believed that there were a number of men in 



145 

the house, and so did not dare to rush forward and 
break in the doors, as they certainly would have 
done if they had known that they were fighting two 
persons only, and one of them a girl. 




Several of the attacking party were wounded, and 
they found at last that there was little chance of 
capturing this fortress, so well defended : so they con- 
cluded to burn the house, and thus force the garrison 
to come out. While they were at work setting fire 
to the wooden building, lluddy shot the mulatto in 

STO. OK N.J. — lO 



146 

the arm ; but, findinj,^ that he could not prevent them 
from carrying out their inu-])ose, he shouted to 
them that if they woukl put out the fire, he would 
surrender. 

When the fort had capitulated and the enemy 
marched in, the Tories were so angry to find that 
they had been fighting no one but a man and a 
negro girl, that many of them were inclined to fall 
upon these unfortunates, and butcher them on the 
spot ; but they were restrained. As it was known 
that Huddy's men would probably soon return, — for 
the noise of the firing had aroused the neighborhood, 
— the enemy seized the captain and hurried him 
away, leaving the rest of the garrison behind. 

It may be said here that this girl, whose name 
was Lucretia Emmons, afterwards married a man 
named Chambers, and, like all other Jersey women 
who were of benefit to their State, lived to a good 
old age, and had a large posterity. 

Caj)tain Huddy was hurried away to the boats in 
which the Tories had arrived ; but the militiamen 
were in hot pursuit, and a running fight took i)lace 
between them and the Tories, in which six of the 
latter were killed. The Tories, with their prisoner, 
got on board their boats; but they had not jnished 
very far from the shore, before the militiamen were 
firing at ihem again. During the hubbub which en- 
sued, Cai)tain Huddy made a hnUl tlash for liberty. 
He sprang to his feet, plunged into the water, and 
began to swim to the shore. In so doing, unfortu- 
nately, he received a shot in the thigh from his own 



147 

friends ; but he raised iiis hands above his head and 
shouted, " I am Huddy, I am Huddy ! " and so, with 
one let; and two arms, he continued to strike out for 
the shore, which he reached in safety. His wound 
could not have been very severe, for it was not long 
before he was again engaged in fighting the Tories. 

Two years after this, Captain Huddy was once 
more obliged to hold a fort against a superior body 
of Tories, — this time a rude structure of logs, or 
blockUouse, near Tom's River, close to the coast. 
His garrison consisted of twenty-five men. Here he 
was attacked by a number of refugees, some of them 
from New York, and some from the neighborhood. 
They gathered from various quarters during the night, 
and early on a Sunday morning they made a united 
attack on the blockhouse. Huddy and his men 
fought bravely ; but when their ammunition was gone, 
and seven or eight of them were killed, he was 
obliged to surrender. 

Now, there was no one to rescue him, and he was 
marched away, put in irons, and confined in the hold 
of a prison ship anchored off the ccxast. The state 
of feeling at the time is shown by the way in which 
the commander of this expedition speaks of the vil- 
lage of Tom's River ; for he says, " The Town, as it 
is called, consists of about a dozen houses, in which 
none but a ]:)iratical set of banditti reside." 

What afterwards happened to the cai)tain was the 
result of a chain of events which could only have 
occurred in a country where neighbors and former 
friends were arrayed in bloody conflict against each 



148 

other. A prominent Tory of that nei.i^hljorhood, named 
White, had been captured by the jiatriots, and it hap- 
pened that the father of one of White's guards had 
been murdered by a party of Tories of whom White 
was a member. White was shot soon after his cap- 
ture ; and it was generally believed that he had been 
killed by this guard, who wished to avenge his father's 
death. 

Thus one murder led to another, but the bloody 
business had not yet gone far enough. The friends 
of White were determined to avenge his death, and 
could think of no better way of doing it than by 
killing Captain Huddy. The Tories wished to get 
rid of him anyway, and here was a reason which 
was considered good enough in those days of furious 
animosity between fellow-countrymen. It was not 
long, therefore, before Huddy was taken from his 
prison, and, without even a show of a trial, was con- 
demned to dealli. It was said that he assisted in 
the killing of Wliite ; and although he asserted boldly 
that this was an absurd charge, as he was in i)ris()n 
at the time White was shot, the Tories would not 
listen to any such plea. They were determined to 
kill him, and die he must. 

lie was taken on shore at Sanch' Hook, and on 
the beaeii a rude gallows was eonstiucted of three 
fence rails, and there he was hung. IV-fore he died, 
he wrote his will, resting the pa|)er on the top of a 
floui- haiirl ; and it is said that his handwriting was 
as tirm and legible as if he had been sitting at a 
table in his own house. 



149 

This inhuman and lawless execution of a man so 
well known and of such good reputation as Cajjtain 
Huddy, created great indignation in the patriotic 
party all over the country, and there was a general 
demand that the British army should deliver up a 
man named Lippencot, who had been the leader of 
the party which had hung Muddy; but the British 
did not consent to this. They did make a show of 
investigating the matter ; and Lippencot, who was an 
officer of a refugee regiment regularly enlisted in 
the British service, was tried by court-martial. Ikit 
he was acquitted ; and no satisfaction was offered to 
the Americans for this crime, which had been com- 
mitted in open defiance of the laws of war. 

But the British commander in chief, who arrived 
about this time, was a man of honor and good sense, 
and he openly condemned the action of LipjDcncot 
and his men, and assured the Americans that he 
would do what he could to further investigate the 
matter. 

This, however, did not satisfy the country, and 
from every side there came demands that some one 
of the officers who were then prisoners in the Amer- 
ican lines should be executed in retaliation for liud- 
dy's murder, unless Lippencot were delivered up to 
the Americans. Here, then, opened the fourth act of 
this bloody ])lay of i)rogression, and we will tell the 
story of the other captain. 

It is a horrible thing to deliberately execute an 
innocent man because some one else has committed 
a crime ; but war is horrible, and we must expect 



ISO 



that horrible things will continually spring from it. 
As no satisfaction could be obtained from the British 
for this acknowledged outrage and murder, — for in 
acquitting Lippencot the British authorities virtually 
took upon themselves the responsibility of Huddy's 
execution, — the Americans, being at war and acting 
in accordance with the bloody rules of war, deter- 

ri""»H,«*iii/™Bi;''' I'iMimrt mined to select an 

officer from among 
the English pris- 
oners in the Amer- 
ican lines, who 
should be executed 
in retaliation for 
Huddy's death. 

As soon as this 
order had been is- 
sued, thirteen Brit- 
ish officers, who 
were at liberty on 
I)ar()le in the Amer- 
ican lines, were ordered 
to report at Lancaster, Penn., 
in order that one of them might be selected to be the 
victim of retaliation. 

These officers were assembled in a room of tlie 
Black Bear Tavern with several American officers, 
who conducted the proceedings, and a guard of 
mounted dragoons was stationed outside. 

The ciuestion was to be decided by lot according 
to the following plan : the thirteen names of .the offi- 




151 

cers were written each upon a little slip of paper, 
and these were put into a hat. Then in another hat 
were placed thirteen other slips of the same size, all 
of them blank excepting one, on which was written 
the word "unfortunate." Two drummer boys were 
called in to draw out the slips, one from one hat, 
the other from the other. As one boy drew out the 
piece of paper and ' read the name of the officer 
written upon it, the other boy at the same time drew 
a slip from the other hat. After sev-eral drawings, 
in which the slips from the second hat had all been 
♦blank, one of the boys drew, and read upon the little 
piece of paper the name of Captain Asgill, and at 
the same time the other boy drew out a slip, and 
read the word "unfortunate." This decided the mat- 
ter; and the American officer in command turned to 
the leader of the dragoons and said to him, "This 
gentleman, sir, is your prisoner." 

Now this most tragical meeting broke up, and we 
are told that every man in that room, except Captain 
Asgill himself, was in tears. The truly unfortunate 
man who had been chosen by this most doleful 
chance was a handsome young gentleman, scarcely 
more than a boy. He was beloved by every one 
who knew him, and he would have been the last 
man to have consented to any such deed as that for 
which he was to pay the penalty. When it became 
known that he had been selected by fate to be exe- 
cuted in retaliation, every one who knew anything 
about him, either in the British army or the Ameri- 
can, deci)ly dc])lorcd the fact that the doom should 



152 

have fallen on one who so little deserved it. Captain 
Asgill was taken to Philadelphia, and after a while 
was carried to New Jersey, w^here in Chatham, Morris 
County, he was held to await his end. 

Washin.i^ton himself was greatly affected by this 
event ; and he wrote to the colonel who had charge 
of Captain Asgill, to treat the unfortunate young 
man with all tenderness and respect while he should 
be in his hands, and to do everything for him that 
was consistent with propriety under the circum- 
stances. 

Now, there came from many parts of this country,- 
as well as from the English, all sorts of communica- 
tions and memorials addressed to the government and 
the commander of the arniy, urging clemenc}' in the 
case of this unfortunate young man ; and it was no 
doubt in consequence of these, that his punishment 
was delayed from time to time. 

Captain Asgill's mother was a lady of good j:»osition 
in England, and, overwhelmed with grief at the im- 
pending fate of her son, she spared no efforts to save 
him. She wrote to every man of influence whom she 
knew ; and among others she wrote to the Count de 
Vergennes, who was in this country as the repre- 
sentative of the court of l^^rance. 

The French, who had been the faithful friends of 
the Americans throughout the struggle, were as will- 
ing to assist their allies to be merciful and forgiving 
as they were to help tlu'ui hght tlieir battles. The 
ambassador addressed a strong letter to Congress, 
urging that young Captain Asgill might be spared, 



153 

and sending a copy of the letter written by the heart- 
broken mother. 

Still war is war ; and one of its laws is, that, if a 
prisoner is unjustly killed by an enemy, one of the 
enemy's men held as prisoner shall be killed in re- 
taliation, the object being, of course, to put a stop to 
unjust executions. With this law in view, Congress 
did not consent to countermand the young man's 
execution. 

Captain Asgill had another friend, a powerful one, 
who did all that he could to save him from his impend- 
ing fate. This was General Washington, who from 
the first had pitied the young man on account of his 
youth and general character; but he had also objected 
to the selection for the reason that he had been 
among the officers who surrendered with Lord Corn- 
wallis, who had been promised that they should not 
be dealt with as hostages. There were other prison- 
ers who might have been more justly taken as sub- 
jects of retaliation, but for some reason the thirteen 
officers who had been summoned to this trial by lot 
were not among those who were justly liable in tlie 
case. Washington felt that the selection of Asgill 
was a breach of good faith, and he did all that he 
could to induce the secretary of war to act justly 
and honorably in the matter. At all events, the 
efforts in behalf of the young officer had the effect 
of delaying the execution; and three months after his 
fatal lot had been drawn, he was allowed to go to 
Morristown and remain there a prisoner on parole. 

Not long after this, another reason arose for the 



154 

pardon of Captain Asgill, which was used with effect 
by his friends. Peace was now approaching, and there 
was no need of the execution of hostages in order to 
prevent further outrages on the part of the enemy ; and 
so the members of Congress began to feel that after 
this long delay, and the approaching general rejoicing 
in the success of American independence, it would 
seem like murder to execute this young man. There- 
fore a law was passed by Congress, directing that 
Captain Asgill should be set at liberty and allowed 
to return to his family. 

Dreadful months of suspense and fearful anticipa- 
tion had darkened the souls of this young soldier, his 
family, and his friends ; but they had probably pro- 
duced a better effect upon the minds of the lawless 
bands of Tory refugees than would have resulted had 
the execution taken place ; for, had Captain Asgill been 
hung, there is no doubt that an American prisoner 
would have suffered in his j^lace ; and how many more 
steps in the bloody business of retaliation would have 
taken place, no man can tell. So, if we look at the 
matter philosophically, it may have been a very good 
thing that the British officer selected to atone for the 
death of Ca])tain Muddy happened to be a young man 
whom nobody wished to kill, for the merciful delay 
exercised in his case was the probable cause of the 
cessation of retaliation during the last months of the 
Revolution. 



THE STORY OF TEMPE WICK. 

THERE are so many curious and unexpected things 
which may happen in time of war, especially to 
people who live in parts of a country where the enemy 
may be expected to come, or where the friendly army 
is already encamped, that it is impossible to guard 
against unpleasant occurrences ; and it often happens 
that the only thing to be depended upon when an 
emergency arises, is presence of mind, and quickness 
of wit. 

In these qualities, New Jersey girls have never 
shown themselves behind their sisters of other parts 
of the country, and a very good proof of this is shown 
by an incident which took place near Morristown 
during the time that the American army was quar- 
tered in that neighborhood. 

Not far from the town was a farm then known as 
Wick's farm, situated in a beautiful wooded country. 
The daughter of Mr. Wick, named Tcmpe (probably 
short for Temperance), was the owner of a very fine 
horse, and on this beautiful animal it was her delight 
to ride over the roads and through the woods of the 
surrounding country. She had been accustomed to 
'55 



156 

horses since she was a child, and was not afraid to 
ride anywhere by herself. 

When she first began to canter over these hills and 
dales, it had been in times of peace, when there was 
nothing in this quiet country of which any one might 
be afraid ; and now, although these were days of war, 
she felt no fear. There were soldiers not far away, 
but these she looked upon as her friends and pro- 
tectors ; for Washington and his army had encamped 
in that region to defend the country against the 
approach of the enemy. If any straggling Redcoats 
should feel a desire to come along the hills, they would 
be very apt to restrain their inclinations so long as 
they knew that that brave American army was en- 
camped near by. 

So Miss Tempe Wick, fearing nothing, rode far 
and wide, as she had been in the habit of doing, and 
every day she and her good steed became better and 
better accjuaintod with each other. 

One fine afternoon, as Tempe was slowlv riding 
homeward, within a mile of her house, she met half 
a dozen soldiers in Continental uniform, and twt) of 
them, ste])ping in front of her, called upon her to 
stop. When she had done so, one of them seized her 
bridle. She did not know the men ; but still, as they 
belonged to Washington's armv, who were her country- 
men and friends, she saw no reason to be afraiil, ami 
asked them what thev wanted. 

At first she received no answer, for they were very 
busih' occupied in looking at her horse and ex]~)ress- 
ing their satisfaction at the fuie points of the ani- 



157 

mal. Tempo had had her horse praised before ; but 
these men were looking at him, and talking about him, 
very much as if he were for sale and they were think- 
ing of buying. Presently one of the men said to her 
that this was a very excellent horse that she was 
riding, and they wanted it. To this Tempe exclaimed, 
in great amazement, that it was her own horse, that 
she wanted him herself, and had no wish to dispose of 
him. Some of the soldiers laughed, and one of them 
told her that the troops were about to move, and 
that good horses were greatly needed, and that they 
had orders to levy upon the surrounding country and 
take horses wherever they could find them. 

Now was Tempe astonished beyond measure. If 
half a dozen British soldiers had surrounded her, and 
had declared that they intended to rob her of her 
horse, she would not have wondered at it, for they 
would have taken it as the property of an enemy. 
Rut that the soldiers of her own country, the men on 
whom she and all her friends and neighbors depended 
for protection and safety, should turn on her and rob 
her, as if they had been a set of marauding Hessians, 
was something she could scarcely comprehend. 

But it did not take her long to understand, that no 
matter who they were or what they were, — whether 
they thought they had a right to do what they threat- 
ened, or whether they had no regard for right and 
justice, — they were in earnest, and intended to take 
her horse. When this conviction flashed into the mind 
of Tempo Wick, there also flashed into it a determina- 
tion to show these men that a Jersey girl had a will 



158 

of her own, and that if they wanted her property, 
they would have to do a great deal more than simply 
to come to her and ask her to hand it over to them. 

After a little parley, during which the man who 
held her bridle let go of it, supposing she was about 
to dismount, she suddenly gave her spirited horse a 
sharp cut with the whip, dashed between two of the 
soldiers, and, before they could comprehend what had 
happened, she was off and away. 

As fast as they could run, the soldiers followed her, 
one or two of them firing their guns in the air, think- 
ing to frighten her and make her stop ; but, as though 
she had been a deer and her pursuers ordinary hunters, 
she swiftly sped away from them. 

But they did not give up the chase. Some of them 
knew where this girl lived, and were confident that 
when they reached her house, they would have the 
horse. If they had known it was such a fine animal, 
they would have come after it before. According to 
their belief, good horses should go into the army, and 
people who staid at home, and expected other i)eoplc 
to fight for them, ought to be willing to do what they 
could to help in the good cause, and at least give their 
horses to the army. 

As Tem])e sat upon her bounding steed, she knew 
very well that the soldiers could never catch her ; but 
her heart sank within her as she thought of what would 
happen when they came to the farm and demanded 
her horse. Running away from them was oiilv post- 
j)oning her trouble for a little while, for there was 
no one about the place who could prevent those 




159 

men from going to the 
barn and taking away 
the animal. 

It would be of no use 
to pass her house and 
ride on and on. Where 
should she go ? She must 
come back some time, and 
all the soldiers would 
have to do would be to 
halt at the farm, and wait 
until she returned. And 
even if she should take 
her horse into the wood 

and tie him to a tree, they would know by her com- 
ing back on foot that she had left him at no great 
distance, and they would be sure to follow his tracks 
and find him. 

As Tempe rode swiftly on, her thoughts galloped 
as fast as her horse, and before she reached the 
house she had come to a conclusion as to the best 
thing to be done. She did not ride towards the 
barn, but dashed through the gateway of the large 
yard, and sprang from her steed. As she turned in. 
she looked down the road ; but the men were not in 
sight. What she was going to do was something 
which people never did, but it was the only thing 
she could think of, and she was a girl whose actions 
were as quick as her ideas were original. Without 
stopping an instant, she took her horse to the back 
door, and led him boldly into the house. 



i6o 

This was not the sort of stable to which Tempe's 
horse or any other American horse was accustomed ; 
but this animal knew his mistress, and where she 
led, he was willing to follow. If one of the farm 
hands had attempted to take the creature into the 
house, there would probably have been some rearing 
and plunging; but nothing of this kind happened as 
our Jersey girl, with her hand on her horse's bridle, 
led him quickly inside and closed the door behind 
him. As the story goes, she took him through the 
kitchen, and then into the parlor, without the slight- 
est regard to the injury his shoes might do to the 
well-kept floor ; and from the parlor she led him 
into a bedroom on the lower floor, which was usually 
used as a guest chamber, but which never before 
had such a guest as this. 

This room had but a single window, the shutters 
of which were kept closed when it was not in use, 
and there was no entrance to it excei')t through the 
door which opened from the parlor. The door was 
quickly closed, and Tempe stood with her horse in 
the darkness. 

When the soldiers reached the farm, thev went to 
the barn. They examined the outhouses, visited the 
pasture fields, and made a thorough search, high and 
low, near and far; but no sign of a horse could they 
find. Of course, the notion that the animal was con- 
cealed in the house did not enter their minds, and 
the only wav in whitli thev could account for the 
total (lisap|)e;uance of the horse was, that Tempe had 
ridden off with iiim - where they knew not. We do 



i6i 



not know how long they waited for the sight of a 
hungry horse coming home to his supper, but we do 
know that while there was the slightest danger of 
her dear horse being taken away from her, that ani- 
mal remained a carefully attended guest in the spare 
room of the Wick house ; and the tradition is, that 




he staid there three weeks. I'here Tempe waited 
on him as if he had been a visitor of high degree; 
and if she was afraid to go to the barn to bring him 
hay and oats, she doubtless gave him biscuit and 
soft bread, — dainties of which a horse is very fond, 
especially when they are brought to him by such a 
kind mistress as Tempe. 

STO. OF N.J. — I I 



l62 

When the cavalry moved away from their camp 
near Morristown, no one of them rode on that fine 
horse on which they had seen a girl gayly cantering, 
and which, when they had been about to put their 
hands upon it, had flown away, like a butterfly from 
under the straw hat of a schoolboy. When the 
troops were gone, the horse came out of the guest 
chamber and went back to his stall in the stable ; 
and that room in which he jxissed so many quiet 
days, and the door through which the horse timidly 
stepped under the shadow of that hospitable roof, are 
still to be seen at the old Wick house, which stands 
now, as it stood then, with its shaded yard and the 
great willow tree behind it, on the pleasant country 
road by which we may drive from Morristown to 
Mendham by the way of Washington Corner. 














THE STORY OF FORT NONSENSE. 

DURING three years ot the Revohition the Amer- 
ican army, under General Washington, wintered 
in New Jersey. Of course, we understand, that, when 
an army ^oca into winter quarters, it does so because 
the weather prevents ()])erations in the field ; and 
although Washington did not in the least object to 
fighting in the cold weather if a good opportunity 
showed itself, as we know from the fact that he 
fought the battle of Trenton on Christmas Day, still 
the winters in New Jersey were for the most part 
periods of inactivity. 

Histories give us full accounts of the important 
battles and marches which took place in New Jersey ; 
but the life of the army in the long, cold months 
in which fighting and marching were almost imjM)s- 
sible, is something with which we are not so well 
acquainted ; and when we understand what the men 
of our army Were obliged to suffer and to endure, 
and the responsibilities and anxieties which were so 
conscientiously borne by Washington and his officers, 
we are compelled to give as nnich credit to tlie 
soldiers of the Revolution for their heroism in their 
winter camps as for their courage upon the battlefield. 



104 

This winter life in New Jersey, of men and officers 
from New England, the Middle States, Virginia, and 
the South, appears to us now as very interesting, and 
in many ways a curious life. Into a quiet country 
neighborhood there came an entirely novel element, — 
an army which had not come there to fight, but to live. 

Washington's fir.st winter in New Jersey was spent 
in Morristown in 1777. This place was chosen be- 
cause it was a productive country, and well situated 
for sudden expeditions against the enemy in that part 
of the State. Although there was no fighting done 
in Morristown, so many small detachments of troops 
went out from the place, and so many sudden at- 
tacks were made ujkmi the outposts of the enemy in 
the country round about, that by the end of the 
winter the British had no hold in New Jersey except 
at Perth Amboy and New I^runswick. 

But, as has been said before, it is not with the 
military operations that we are concerned, but with 
the winter life of the army in the camji. The first 
thing that has to be done when an army arrives to 
settle and make itself a home in and about a country 
town, is to provide a good house for the commander 
in chief and officers, and a suitable camping place for 
the men. Washington went to Arnold's Ta\-ern, a 
large house on the corner of the Green ; and the 
army encamped in the valley of the Loantika, a 
beautiful place in summer, but not jiarticularly attract- 
ive in cold weather. Here thev built themselves 
huts of logs, and here thev tried to keep themselves 
warm and to be satisfied with what they had ; for the 



i65 

government was poor, and found it hard to keep an 
army. There was plenty to eat and drink in the 
surrounding country, but there was very little money 
with which to buy it. 

It was a great thing for the Morristown people to 
see the tavern surrounded night and day by a guard 
of twenty-six soldiers, and to have their streets and 
roads made lively by soldiers on foot, clad in the 
various uniforms worn by the men from different 
States, — some with cocked hats, some with round hats 
with feathers stuck in them ; some with green coats, 
some with blue ; some with buckskin breeches, others 
with black, — while Washington, with the officers of 
his staff, galloped here and there, dressed in the 
regular Continental uniforms of blue and buff. 

Among the most conspicuous uniforms of the Amer- 
ican army was that of the Jersey Blues. This was 
a volunteer organization formed in Essex County ; and 
the first uniforms of these soldiers were furnished by 
the patriotic women of that region. They were not 
able to afford anything handsome or costly : so each 
soldier was provided with a frock coat and trousers 
made of tow cloth, which was dyed a bright blue by 
the same women who made it into soldiers' clothes. 
These Jersey Blues, although they must have pre- 
sented a very peculiar appearance in the field, became 
famous soldiers, and were known throughout the war, 
and occupied high i)ositions in the Continental army. 
The Jersey Blues were never disorganized, and still 
remain ])romincnt among the citizen soldiers of the 
State. 



1 66 




It was Washington's haliit dur- 
in,i,^ the war, as soon as ho liad pfw^-^;;^ 
settled liiniself in his winter quar- 
ters, to send for Mrs. Washington to join him ; and 
accordinjjjly she came to Morristown very soon after 
his first airi\-al there. Men and officers were always 
deli!j;hted wlien the wife of the comnianiler in chiet 
came down to live amoni; them, and they welcomed 
the sight of the carria^je drawn by four horses, with 
the postilions and p^rooms dressed in Washincjton's 
own livery of scarlet and white. On this occasion. 
Washington went some distance to meet his wife, and 
waited in a little village until she should arrive. 



1 6/ 

When the hidy at the house where he was stopping; 
saw the grand carriage drive up, she was prepared to 
behold an illustrious personage alight from it, and she 
was somewhat surprised when she saw a very plainly 
dressed, quiet lady step down from the high coach. 
She thought there surely must be some mistake ; but 
when she saw the courteous affection with which the 
grand gentleman in the fine uniform and cocked hat 
greeted this plainly dressed lady, she knew that she 
had made no mistake. 

There was no ostentation or superciliousness about 
Mrs. Washington. She was hospitable and kind, and 
she put on no airs because she was a great lady from 
Virginia, and because she was the wife of the com- 
mander in chief of the army. The story is told, that, 
soon after her arrival, some ladies of the town went to 
pay their respects to her, and as they were going 
to visit the first lady of the land, they thought that 
they should dress themselves in their finest clothes. 
Arrayed in silks, satins, and ruflfles, they were shown 
into the presence of Mrs. Washington, and were utterly 
amazed to find her wearing a striped homespun apron, 
and busily engaged in knitting stockings. She re- 
ceived them, however, with as much dignity and 
courtesy as if she had had a crown on her head and 
a scepter in her hand ; and in the course of conver- 
sation she said that it was the duty of every one to 
try to do without the things which they were obliged 
to buy from foreign countries, and to make for them- 
selves, as far as possible, what they needed ; antl that, 
while their husbands and brothers were fighting in the 



1 68 



field, she thought that they should do what they could 
at home to help the great cause. 

Mrs. Washington entertained the ladies with accounts 
of her life at home. She said that in her house there 
were always sixteen spinning wheels at work. She 
showed them two morning dresses which had been 
made in her house from ravelings of old satin chair 
covers. But Mrs. Washington was not at all averse 
to cheerfulness and good company, and in that year 
there were many dances and parties in Morristown, 
which kept the place quite gay. 

Two years afterwards, Washington and his army 
wintered at Middlebrook, in Somerset County. Here 
the army had a comparatively comfortable time, for 
the weather was mild, without much snow or frost; 
and this, after the terrible sufferings which they had 
had at Valley Forge the winter before, was very well 
calculated to put men as well as ofiFicers in a cheerful 
state of mind. It is true that the difficulties of obtain- 
ing provisions were in some ways greater than thev had 
been before; for the Continental money, with which 
all sui^iilies were paid for, was depreciating so rapidly 
that now thirty or forty dollars of it were barely equal 
to one silver dollar, and the countrN' ])eople ver\' nnich 
disliked to take it. Hut the army had just achieved 
some im|)ortant victories, and there was a feeling in 
many circles that it would not be long before the war 
would end; and with this belief in the minds of manv, 
and with the general satisfaction in the mild and ])leas- 
ant wealiier, it is no wonder that there were some good 
times in the army during that winter at Middlebrook. 



169 

General Washington always liked to have company 
at dinner, for he was very hospitable, and, besides 
this, he considered it his duty to become acquainted 
with his officers and with the people of the neighbor- 
hood ; and sometimes as many as thirty persons sat 
down at the table. Even if the various articles of 
food were not of the finest quality, they were well 
cooked and well served. While in Middlebrook, Wash- 
ington desired a dinner service of white queen's-ware, 
and he wrote to Philadelphia to obtain it. Among the 
articles he mentioned in his order were eight dozen 
shallow plates and three dozen soup ])lates, which 
gives an idea of the size of his dinner parties. Hut, 
although Philadelphia was searched from one end to 
the other, no queen's-ware of the kind could be found, 
and at last Washington was told that he could get 
what he wanted in New Brunswick, and there he 
bought his queen's-ware. 

Among other things which he ordered at that time 
were " si.x tolerably genteel but not expensive candle- 
sticks ; " and he also wrote for a new hat, stating, "I 
df) not wish by any means to be in the extreme of 
fashion, either in the size or manner of cocking it." 

At these dinners there was a good deal of state 
and ceremony, although the heads of the family were 
very courteous and attentive to their guests. As this 
was a military establishment, everything was done 
promptly and according to rule. Washington never 
waited longer than five minutes for any guest who 
was late. When such a person did arrive after the 
company had seated themselves at the table, he would 



I/O 



always try to put him at his ease by some pleasant 
remark, sometimes saying that he had a cook "who 
never asks whether the company has come, but 
whether the hour has come." 

During this winter a great entertainment was given 
by General Knox and some other officers, and it was 
said to be the finest thing of 
the kind ever seen in that 
part of the State. It may 
be thought, and probably 
there were people who 
thought it then, that at 

'' ' .^-^^^^^^BH^"^' "^ ^''^^*^ when money was 

so much needed, and 

provisions were so hard 

to get, a great and exjien- 

i_/ JKtifb*'?^' ':'"? T '" sive festival like this was 




IlV ^/1/ J ,', '^'^' '^P^'TS' / ' extravagant and out of i)lace 
l^/^i^:.;^^ b»t it is likely that the gayet) 

'^- JlT^Sp^^v ^r of that great day had a gooc 




ety 
great aay naa a good 
^ and encouraging effect uiK)n the 
army as well as the peoj)le of 
the country. They knew why 
' the day had been celebrated, and 

because of the general rejoicings they believed there 
was reason to rejoice ; and wlien people believe that 
there is a good thing coming, they are much more 
ready to fight for it tlian if they had no such belief. 

Hut it is not of these two winters that our story 
has to ileal : it is with the second encam|)ment at 
Mt)nislown, during the cold, the snow, and the icy 



171 

frosts of 1779-80. At this time, General and Mrs. 
Washington lived in the handsome house which is now 
known as "Washington's Headquarters," and has been 
preserved in the same condition as it was in those 
Revolutionary days. In this fine old mansion, General 
Washington and his wife kej^t up their hospitable 
customs ; and at their table were seen such men as 
Alexander Hamilton, General Greene, Baron Steuben, 
Kosciusko, Pulaski, " Light Horse Harry " Lee, Israel 
Putnam, " Mad Anthony " Wayne, and Benedict Arnold. 
There also came to Morristown the minister from 
France (the Chevalier de la Luzerne) and an envoy 
from Spain (Don Juan de Mirailles). These two dis- 
tinguished foreigners were received with great honor. 
An escort was sent out to meet them ; there was a 
grand review of the troops, in which Washington and 
his generals, together with the Frenchman and the 
Spaniard, appeared on the field, splendidly mounted ; 
while on the grand reviewing stand was the governor 
of the State and a great many citizens and distin- 
guished people. After a salute of thirteen cannon, the 
parading army went through its evolutions, and in the 
evening there was a grand ball. 

But one of the guests to whom these honors were 
given did not apj-jcar at the ball. The Spanish en\'oy 
was taken sick, and a few days afterwards died at 
the headquarters. He was buried with great jiom]) 
and ceremony. The funeral procession was a mile 
long, and attended by Washington and all his officers. 
Minute guns boomed as the procession j^assed from 
the headquarters to the graveyard at the back of the 



172 




First Presbyterian Church, and people came from all 
parts of the surrounding country to view the great 
procession. 

The funeral services were conducted by a Spanish 
priest with the impressive rites of the Catholic Church ; 
and after a military salute had been fired over the 
;rave, sentinels were placed to guard it, for 
the Spanish nobleman was buried in full 
regalia. A gold watch studded with 
liamonds was in his pocket; 
diamonds were on his fin- 
gers; and valuable seals 

-^^ ^_^,;;^%|||n^ watchguard. 

,8|S; '?^^3S^*>- -."^'"^' '"^ I There was not so 

^^ !l4:1 Sf ^l<iWP= tack from the 

ijk^::/ enemy as there 
I had been during 

the previous winter, 
when Washington was 
at Morristown. Now, there were only 
four guards at the headquarters, — two 
at the front of the house, and two at the back. But 
the most careful i)rci)arations were made in case the 
enemy should show itself, and now and then a false 
alarm showed the perfection of the discii)line which 
was maintained. 

C)n such occasions a shot woidd be heard from 
one of the most distant outposts, then a sentinel near 





173 

the town would fire, and so on until a report would 
be heard by the sentinels at the headquarters, who 
would fire their guns ; then there were the guns in 
Morristown, and so on out to the camp, and very soon 
a detachment would hurry into the town at a quick- 
step. But before they reached the place, the life guard 
encamped near the headquarters would rush to the 
house, enter the lower story, and barricade the doors ; 
and five men at each window, with muskets loaded and 
ready to fire, would await the approach of the enemy. 

But although no British soldiers ever reached 
Morristown, there was good reason for all the pre- 
cautions taken. Besides the frequent attempts which 
were made by large bodies of the Redcoats to penetrate 
to the region occupied by Washington's army, there 
were small expeditions even more dangerous. One of 
these consisted of a party of picked British cavalry- 
men, who started from their camp near New York, 
by way of Elizabethtown, for the express purpose of 
capturing General Washington. They advanced in the 
direction of Morristown until they reached Chatham, 
about six miles distant, and there — being overtaken by 
a terrible storm, and finding so many difficulties ahead 
of them — they gave up their project. 

Outside of Morristown, on a high hill which stretches 
away to the southwest, the American army was en- 
camped during this winter. Among these men we 
can scarcely believe there were many festivities or 
merrymakings. In fact, the sufferings and p*rivations 
of the common soldiers at this time were very great, 
and even the table of the commander in chief was 



174 

sometimes furnished with the plainest of food. In a 
letter written by Washington at this time, he says, — 

''We have had the virtue and patience of the army put to the 
severest trial. Sometimes it has been five or six days together 
without bread ; at other times as many days without meat ; and 
once or twice, two or three days without either. I hardly thought 
it possible, at one period, that we should be able to keep it together, 
nor could it have been done, but for the exertions of the magistrates 
in the several counties of this state [Jersey], on whom I was obliged 
to call, expose our situation to them, and in plain terms declare that 
we were reduced to the alternative of disbanding or catering for 
ourselves, unless the inhabitants would afford us their aid. I allotted 
to each county a certain proportion of flour or grain, and a certain 
number of cattle, to be delivered on certain days ; and for the honor 
of the magistrates, and the good disposition of the people, I must 
add that my requisitions were punctually complied with, and in 
many counties exceeded. Nothing but this great exertion could 
have saved the army from dissolution or starving, as we were bereft 
of every hope from the commissaries. At one time the soldiers ate 
every kind of horse food but hay. Buckwheat, common wheat, rye, 
and Indian corn composed the meal which made their bread. As 
an army, they bore it with the most heroic patience ; but sufferings 
like these, accompanied by the want of clothes, blankets, etc., will 
produce frequent desertions in all armies ; and so it happened with 
us, tliough it did not excite a single mutiny.'' 

At this time, various circulars and printed bills were 
sent to the American army from the British, urging 

the men lo ll\- Iroin all their hardships and miseries, 
and join the l'"-ni;lish force, where they would be re- 
cei\'ed, and turnished with every comfort. In lliis 
condition of things it was very important to keej) the 
American soldiers, cold, himgry, and idle, from think- 
ing too much of their troubks. Washington could not 
gix'c them balls, nor in\ite them to dine ; but he wisely 
consideretl that the best thing he coidd give them 



175 

was occupation, — a most wonderful medicine for dis- 
content. He therefore determined to build a fort upon 
the summit of the hill where the camp was situated. 

His engineers therefore planned a large fortification 
made up of earthworks ; and on this the men were put 
to work, as if it had been expected that the enemy 
would soon arrive, and take the place. The desire to 
put their camp in a condition of defense, and the 
animation of steady labor, were of as much advantage 
to the spirits of the soldiers as bread and meat would 
be to their bodies ; and, from sitting in idle groups 
about their camp fires and huts, they worked on the 
new intrenchments, ramparts, and redoubts with cheer- 
ful energy. 

Everything was done exactly as if the new fort 
were soon to be called upon to protect the town, which 
stretched itself beneath the hill ; and the engineers and 
officers were as careful in making plans and giving 
directions as if they had been building a fort at the 
entrance of New York liay. 

It was never expected that the fort would be at- 
tacked, and it was never supposed, that, if the British 
should come this way, the battle would be fought in 
or about the town ; but the building of the fort was 
honestly intended for the defense and protection of 
the troops, not against muskets, cannon, and bayonets, 
but against discontent and despair, — enemies far more 
formidable to the suffering army of that day than 
l?ritish troops and Hessians. 

The result was a good one : Washington's army at 
Morristown stood by him as long as he staid there ; 



176 

and when they marched away, they left upon the top 
of that hill a monument to the wisdom, the kindness, 
and the knowledge of human nature, displayed by their 
great commander in chief in those hazardous days. 

We do not know what this earthwork was first 
called ; but in time it came to be known as Fort Non- 
sense, simply because it appeared to the ordinary man 
as a great piece of work undertaken without any good 
purpose. But never was a name more inapplicable. 
If it had been called Fort Good Sense, it would have 
been much more suitable. 

The remains of this fort are still to be seen on the 
hill beyond Morristown ; and a monumental stone has 
been set up there to mark its site, and explain its 
nature and purpose. Most of its ramparts and re- 
doubts have been washed away by the storms of more 
than a century, and we can still perceive many of its 
outlines ; but those skilled in the art of military fortifi- 
cation know that it was a good fortress, while stu- 
dents of human nature and of the influence of great 
minds ui)on the welfare of their t'ellow-beings, know 
that it acted an important part in the defense of our 
liberties and the establishment of our government. 

It may be remarked that in this story we have said 
a good deal about other things, and very little about 
Fort Nonsense. Hut there is very little of Fort Non- 
sense, and not much to say about it; and what has 
been told was the story of the can^j) life of Washing- 
ton and his arnn' in New Jersey, the most permanent 
and suggestive point of which is the earthwork called 
Fort Nonsense. 



AN AMERICAN LORD. 

AMONG the principal men of colonial days and of 
Revolutionary times, there were many whose 
social positions were much the same as the station of 
the ordinary European aristocrat. From their ances- 
tors the colonists had inherited the disposition to 
recognize differences in rank ; and men of wealth and 
high position in the colonial government were re- 
garded to a certain extent as members of the nobility 
are regarded in England. Before the Declaration of 
Independence, it was not even assumed in this country 
that all men are born ecjual. 

But, although there were native-born personages in 
the Colonies who might well be termed aristocrats, their 
titles were political or military ; and an American lord 
was, as he would be now, something entirely out of 
the common. 

But in those days there was an American lord ; and 
a very good American he was, in spite of his being 
a lord. This was William Alexander, known as Lord 
Stirling. He was born in New York, of Scotch 
parents. When he was quite a young man, he went 
into military life, and served in the British colonial 
army in the iMcnch War. In the campaigns in which 

STO. OK N.J. — 12 177 



178 

he served, he gained the niilitar)' education which was 
afterwards of the f^reatest advantage, not only to him, 
but to the country. 

There was no British heir to the earldom of Stir- 
ling, a Scotch peerage; and, as he believed that he 
was a direct descendant f)f the last Lord Stirling, 
the young man went to England, and laid claim to the 
estate and title. He was successful in proving his 
direct descent from the earls of Stirling; but the House 
of Lords, who gave the final decision in the case, 
would not allow his claim. Even if the law had 
permitted his claim, it is not likely that the J^ritish 
House of Lords would have been anxious to welcome 
into the peerage an American-born ])erson. 

But although he got nothing more, he rcall\- ob- 
tained his title, and he was known then, as he is 
known in history, as Lord Stirling. lie was a man of 
wealth, and must have had a very good time in luig- 
land, for he studied well the manners and customs of 
the nobility; and as his own habits and tastes were 
those which he observed in the great houses of Eng- 
land, he here receix'ed a social education which had 
a great effect upon his future career. 

He was also the means of educating some of the 
inhabitants ol (Ireat Britain, and the way in which he 
did it is shown bv a little incident which occurred 
when he was \isiting Scotland. lie was iinited to 
dine at the house of a gentleman, who informed his 
wile that an Ann-ricau was coming to take dinnei- with 
them. It is to be presumed that this announcement 
had about the sanie effect u])on her as would now be 



179 

produced if an American t;enlleman should intorni 
his family that a chief from Madagascar was to dine 
with them. 

The Scotch lady, no doubt, expected to sec a copper- 
colored brave, in war paint and feathers, with toma- 
hawk, and bows and arrows, and perhaps a few scalps 
hanging from his belt. Probably she had busied herself 
devising a dinner which would suit a savage who was 
a native of that far-away land of America, and hoped 
she might give him something which would compen- 
sate him for the loss of a cannibal repast ; but when 
she beheld the handsome young gentleman who came 
into the house with her husband, she could not repress 
her astonishment, and exclaimed, " Bless my soul ! 
The animal is white." Ignorance of foreign countries 
was at that time not uncommon in Great Britain. 

Although born in New York, Lord Stirling estab- 
lished himself in New Jersey, and it was in connec- 
tion with this State that he was afterwards generally 
known. His father had owned a large tract of land 
at Basking Ridge, a beautifully situated town not far 
from Morristown ; and here Lord Stirling built him- 
self a stately mansion with fine gardens, and a great 
park in which were herds of deer. It was built in 
the fashion of the lordly country seats of England, 
around a courtyard paved with flagstones, and con- 
tained grand halls and stately apartments beautifully 
ornamented and furnished. The barns and outbuild- 
ings were grand, like the mansion itself, with cupolas 
and gilded vanes, and altogether the establishment 
was imposing and beautiful. 



i8o 




This young man had brought 

with him from England servants, 

butlers, valets, hairdressers, and 

a great many fine horses, and 

carriages with arms emblazoned 




upon their panels. He 
lived in grand state, and his 
house was generally filled Avith 
guests ; for the best people of 
the country were glad to visit 
this beautiful home, where the 
best of company and the freest 
hospitality were alwa)s to be 
found. The lord of the 
manor was an affable ^'^J^^'<ff >1 
and courteous gentle- ,^^^> \ 
man, and the writers of V^, \._ J 
those da)s ha\e given x'>, , 
glowing accounts of the Vi 
gracious Lady .Stirling ami '•' 
her charming daughter. Lady Kitty. 

But notwithstanding the fact that he felt as a ]ovd 
and li\ed as a lord, this uiand •renllcman never fortrot 




i8i 

that he was not only a lord, but an American ; and 
when the Colonies began to assert their claim to inde- 
pendence, Lord Stirling promptly showed his colors 
on the patriotic side. He commanded the hrst body 
of troops raised in New Jersey in the colonial days, 
and he very soon became one of the most prominent 
officers in the Revolutionary army. 

After he was made general, he distinguished him- 
self at the battle of Long Island, where he performed 
some daring feats. The odds were greatly against the 
Americans on that occasion, and, in order to secure 
the retreat of the main part of his command, Lord 
Stirling took four hundred men, and made a bold 
attack upon a house that was occupied by the British 
general, Cornwallis. During the desperate fight which 
followed, in which his little force was far outnumbered 
by the enemy, his command made a successful retreat, 
but he himself was captured, and afterwards impris- 
oned on a war ship. 

But he did not stay there long. Washington could 
not do without the services of this man, who was not 
only a most earnest patriot, but an educated and effi- 
cient soldier ; and, as the Americans held several 
EngHsh officers as prisoners of war, one of them was 
exchanged, with the least possible delay, for Lord 
Stirling. 

One of the earliest and most daring exploits of this 
brave soldier was the capture, by an infantry force, 
of an armed British ship which was on its way to 
Boston with stores and supplies for the iMiglish army 
there. 



I 82 



This vessel, which was called the " Blue Mountain 
Valley," had met with rough weather, and, having been 
badly damaged, was lying off Sandy Hook, waiting 
for assistance from two British men-of-war then in 
New York Harbor. 

But Lord Stirling, who was stationed not far from 
the coast, and to whom the situation of the vessel 
became known, determined that, if possible, he would 
get to this valuable storeshij:) before the enemy's men- 
of-war could reach her. So, with a number of the 
regular soldiers under his command, and some volun- 
teers from the neighborhood, he put out to sea in 
some small craft, one of them a pilot boat. The 
English vessel had for her defense six guns, and was 
what is called an armed transport, but Stirling's men 
carried only ordinary muskets. However, they boldly 
attacked the vessel, and bearing down upon her as if 
she had been a column of infantry, in spite of the 
cannon and guns of the crew, cajitured her. 

As soon as this victory had been won. Lord Stirling 
had all sails set ; and the " Blue Mountain Walley " 
waited no longer for the men-of-war to come to licr 
assistance, but sailed away for Perth Ambt)y, which 
was in possession of the Americans. Here she was 
found to be a mo.st valuable prize, although Lord 
Stirling was sorry, as he afterwards stated when he 
made his report to Congress, that her cargo was not 
arms, instead of coal and jnovisions. 

Lord Stirling fought well in the battles of New 
Jersey. At Monmoutli lu- cs|)C(.iall\' distinguisiu'd liini- 
self by the w.iy in whirh he managed the artillery 



1 83 

which was under his command ; and it is said that the 
enemy were amazed to find batteries so splendidly 
handled in the ranks of the Americans, who were not 
supposed by most British officers to be possessed of 
(;reat military ability, although the erroneousness of 
this supposition was gradually impressed upon their 
minds as the war went on. 

Our nobleman, however, had given another proof of 
his ability to adapt himself to military circumstances. 
When Washington and his army were wintered at 
Morristown, there was an e\'ident desire among 
the British commanders to attack him at that place, 
and there was constant danger of an advance from the 
forces about New York. Lord Stirling was with the 
troops under General Greene, defending the principal 
api)roaches to Morristown on the east, and he very 
often had fights and skirmishes with British detach- 
ments sent out to reconnoiter the country, or to break 
into the American lines. 

At one time a very large force, led by Clinton, 
advanced towards Morristown ; and this was believed 
to be a serious and determined attempt to attack 
Washington, whose army was in a jiretty bad plight, 
and not at all prei)ared to fight large bodies of well- 
appointed trooj)s. Lord Stirling, with the other officers 
of the regular army, aided by forces of militiamen 
greatly excited by atrocities which had been committed 
by the British troops in the neighborhood, made a 
determined stand in the region of the "Short Hills," 
and a battle was fought near Springfield. .Although 
the American forces were not able to defeat the 



1 84 

British, they so harassed them, placing themselves in 
all the passes through which it was necessary to ad- 
vance, that at last the Redcoats gave up the attempt 
to reach Morristown, and retired to Elizabeth. 

Throughout the war, this gentleman with the grand 
house, the park, the deer, the splendid carriages, the 
butlers, and the hairdressers, fought as earnestly and as 
patriotically as if he had been a sturdy farmer who 
had left his cornfield for the battlefield, with an old 
blunderbuss over his shoulder. Not only was he a 
good soldier, but he was a trustworthy friend to the 
cause of the Colonies and to General Washington ; and 
it is said that it was through his means that the con- 
spiracy among some of the officers of the army against 
General Washington, of whom they were jealous, was 
discovered and broken up. 

Officers of the army were frequently quartered at 
his house at Basking Ridge, where they found most 
delightful company; and in every way our American 
lord did what he could for the cause and the jieoj^le 
who were defending it. His title was generally rec- 
ognized ; and Washington, who was very particular in 
regard to matters of rank and social propriety, always 
called liini " m\- lord." He was said to be a fine-look- 
ing man ; in fact, he and Washington were of more 
imposing and dignifiod a])])earance than anv other 
officers of the American army. 

Of course, as he was a very notable person among 
the Continental olTuers, the Hritisli were \-ei\- anxious 
to ca])ture him. In 17.S1. when he was in eonunand 
of the Northern Dejiartment at Albany, this design 



i85 

of the enemy came very near beini; carried out, but 
was frustrated by the faithful services of one of those 
good women who were continually turning u}) in colo- 
nial history. A servant girl in the family of a house 
near Albany, where Lord Stirling was staying, had 
been visiting her parents during the day, and had there 
heard a plot of the Tories of the neighborhood to cap- 
ture Lord Stirling. Being of a patriotic disposition, she 
told her mistress of the plot as soon as she got home ; 
and when in the night a large body of the enemy came 
to the house, they were met with a surprise. 

Lord Stirling had not gone out of town without 
taking with him a guard of dragoons ; and these men, 
instead of being cpiartered at a distance, as the Tories 
evidently supposed they would be, had all been brought 
into the house ; and when the attack was made in the 
night, the bullets and pistol balls which whizzed and 
whistled from that ordinarily peaceful mansion aston- 
ished the Tories, who fied. 

But although Lord Stirling did so much for Ameri- 
can independence, he did not live to enjoy the fruits 
of it, for he died in Albany, while still in command of 
the Northern Department. After his death, the estate 
at Basking Ridge was sold, and payment for it was 
made in Continental money, which afterwards became 
of almost no value; so that for this fine property, it 
might be said, his family received nothing but a pile of 
badly printed paper. The mansion and the deer ])ark 
and the emblazoned carriages are gone and forgotten ; 
but the brave soldier, who gave up all the pleasures of 
a lordly position for his country, will live in history. 



MOLLY PITCHER. 



AT the battle of Monmouth, 
where Lord Stirling so 
distinguished himself for the 
management of the artillery, 
another person of an entirely 
different station in life, of dif- 
ferent nationality, and even 
different sex, played a very 
notable part in the working of 
the American cannon on that 
eventful day. 

This was a young Irish- 
woman, wife of an artillery- 
man. She was of a different 
clisi)osition from ordinary 
women, who are glad enough 
U) hide themselves in places 
my fighting going on in their 
was born with the soul of a 
soldier, and, although slic did not belong to the army, 
she much preferred going to war to staying at home 
and attending to domestic affairs. She was in the 
habit of following her husband on his various marches, 
ii>6 




of safety, if there is 
neighborhood. Molh' 



i87 

and on the day of the Monmouth battle she was with 
him on the field. 

The day was very hot. The rays of the sun came 
down with such force that many of the soldiers were 
taken sick and some died ; and the constant discharges 
of musketry and artillery did not make the air any 
cooler. Molly devoted herself to keeping her husband 
as comfortable as possible, and she made frequent trips 
to a spring not far away to bring him water ; and on 
this account he was one of the freshest and coolest 
artillerymen on the ground. In fact, there was no 
man belonging to the battery who was able to manage 
one of these great guns better than Pitcher. 

Returning from one of her trips to the spring, Molly 
had almost reached the place where her husband was 
stationed, when a bullet from the enemy struck the 
poor man and stretched him dead, so that Molly had 
no sooner caught sight of her husband than she saw 
him fall. She ran to the gun, but scarcely had reached 
it before she heard one of the ofificers order the cannon 
to be wheeled back out of the way, saying that there 
was no one there who could serve it as it had been 
served. 

Now Molly's eyes flashed fire. One might have 
thought that she would have been prostrated with 
grief at the loss of her husband, but, as we have said, 
she had within her the soul of a soldier. She had seen 
her husband, who was the same to her as a comrade, 
fall, and she was filled with an intense desire to 
avenge his death. She cried out to the officer not 
to send the gun away, but to let her serve it ; and, 



1 88 

scarcely waiting to hear what he would say, she sprang 
to the cannon, and began to load it and fire it. She 
had so often attended her husband, and even helped 
him in his work, that she knew all about this sort of 
thing, and her gun was managed well and rapidly. 

It might be supposed that it would be a very strange 
thing to see a woman on the battlefield firing a cannon ; 
but even if the enemy had watched Molly with a spy- 
glass, they would not have noticed anything to excite 
their surprise. She wore an ordinary skirt, like other 
women of the time ; but over this was an artillery- 
man's coat, and on her head was a cocked hat with 
some jaunty feathers stuck in it, so that she looked 
almost as much like a man as the rest of the soldiers 
of the battery. 

During the rest of the battle, Molly bravely served 
her gun ; and if she did as much execution in the 
ranks of the Redcoats as she wanted to do, the loss in 
the regiments in front of her nuist have been very 
great. Of course, all the men in the battery knew 
Molly Pitcher, and they watched her with the greatest 
interest and admiration. She would not allow any 
one to take her place, but kej^t on loading and firing 
until the work of the day was done. Then the officers 
and men crowded about her with congratulations and 
praise. 

The next day General Greene went to Molly, — 
whom he found in \-ery nuieh the condition in which 
she had lett the battlefield, stained witli dirt aiul \m)w- 
der, with her fine feathers gone aiul her cocked hat 
dilapidated, — and conducted her, just as she was, to 



189 

General Washington. When the commander in chief 
heard what she had done, he gave her warm words 
of praise. He determined to bestow upon her a sub- 
stantial reward ; for any one who was brave enough 
and able enough to step in and fill an important place, 
as Molly had filled her husband's place, certainly de- 
served a reward. It was not according to the rules of 
war to give a commission to a woman ; but, as Molly 
had acted the part of a man, Washington considered 
it right to pay her for her services as if she had been 
a man. He therefore gave her the commission of a 
sergeant, and recommended that her name be placed 
on the list of half-pay officers for life. 

Every one in the army soon came to hear of the 
exploit of Molly Pitcher, and it was not long before 
she was called Captain Molly. The officers of the 
French regiment on the American side were particu- 
larly pleased with this act of heroism in a woman, 
and invited Molly to review their troops ; and as she 
walked down the long line of soldiers, nearly every 
man put a piece of money in the cocked hat which 
she held in her hand. 

This was the last battlefield on which Molly Pitcher 
appeared, but it had not been licr first. Not long 
before, she had been with her husband in Fort Clinton 
when it was attacked by a very large force of the Brit- 
ish. After a vigorous defense, the Americans found 
that it was impossible to defend the fort, and a retreat 
was ordered. As the soldiers were rushing out of 
the rear of the fort, Molly's husband turned away 
from his gun, threw down his match, — ■ a piece of 



rope soaked in combustible substances, and slowly burn- 
ing at one end, which was used in those days for 
discharging cannon, — -and ran for his life. Molly 
prepared to follow him; but as she saw the glowing 
match on the ground, and knew that her husband's 
gun was loaded, she could not resist the desire to take 
one more crack at the enemy. So she stopped for an 




instant, ■ ^mr..^9m^m^ ^-^ -— - --■ iv 

picked up 
the match, 
touched off the J 

gun, and dashed i '•'^'^' 

away after her husband. 

The cannon which then blazed out in the face of the 
advancing British was the last gun which the Ameri- 
cans fired in F'ort Clinton. 

Molly did not meet with the reward which was ac- 
corded so many other Jersey women who were of 
benefit to their State and country. She died not long 



igi 

after the close of the war; and if she had known that 
she was to be famous as one of the heroes of the 
Revolution, there is no doubt that she would have 
hojK'd that people would be careful to remember that 
it was a man's service that she did to the country, and 
not a woman's. 

But Captain Molly was not the only Jersey woman 
who was willing to act a man's part in the War for 
Indej)endence. Among those of whom there is his- 
torical mention was Mrs. Jinnie Waglum, who lived 
near Trenton. At the time when Washington was 
arranging to march upon Princeton, she was visiting 
her friend, whose husband was the landlord of The 
True American Inn, just out of Trenton ; and this 
tavern was Washington's headquarters at the time. 
In this way Mrs. Jinnie heard of the intended advance; 
and she also heard that there was no one in the Amer- 
ican forces who knew the country well enough to con- 
duct the army from Trenton to Princeton by any route 
except the highways, on which the advance would be 
observed by the enemy. 

She therefore sent word to Washington that she 
would guide the army if he wished, and that there 
was no one who knew the countr\' better than she 
did. Washington was a man who had sense enough 
to avail himself of good service whenever it was 
offered ; and when he had made inquiries about Mrs. 
Waglum, he was perfectly willing to ])ut his army un- 
der lier guidance, and very glad indeed tliat she had 
offered her services. 

When a woman acts the i)art of a man, it is not 



192 

surprising that she likes to look like a man ; so Mrs. 
Jinnie put on a soldier's coat and a soldier's hat, and, 
mounting a horse, she headed the Continental army, 
commanded .by Washington. This was a proud posi- 
tion, but she was equal to it ; and on she rode, with 
all the cavalry and the infantry and the artillery and 
the general and staff following behind her. She took 
them along by Sand Town and Quaker Bridge, by 
roads over which she had often traveled ; and the 
American army reached Princeton in good time for 
the battle which took place ne.xt day. 






'f^v. ■ ^ 




THE MORRISTOWN GHOSTS. 

IN the early days of American history there was in 
New Jersey, as well as in New England and other 
jxirts of the country, a firm belief in the existence of 
witches and ghosts. Of course, there were people who 
knew enough not to put faith in supernatural appari- 
tions and magical power ; but there were so many who 
did believe in these things, that it was often unsafe, 
or at least unpleasant, to be an ugly old woman, or a 
young woman in not very good health, for it was be- 
lieved that into such bodies the evil spirits delighted 
to enter. 

Nearly all the older towns had their ghost stories, 
their witch stories, and their traditions of hidden treas- 
ure, guarded by spirits of persons who had been mur- 
dered, and buried with the gold in order that their 
spirits might act as a charm to frighten away any- 
body who should presume to dig in those spots. In 
Burlington were two great trees which were regarded 
with admiration and fear by many of the inhabitants. 
One was a large willow tree, which was called the 
Witches' Tree, around which these horrible spirits 
were supposed to dance on many a wild night. An- 
other was the Pirates' Tree, a great walnut, under 
sTu. OK N.J. — 13 193 



194 

the roots of which many of the inhabitants firmly be- 
lieved that the famous Blackbcard and his band had 
buried many pots of gold, silver, and precious stones ; 
and these pots would have been dug up had it not 
been for the fear that the spirit of the savage pirate, 
who had been buried with the treasure, would have 
been the first thing to meet the eyes of the sacri- 
legious disturber of the pirate treasure vault. 

There are other ghost stories of other places in 
New Jersey ; but Morristown, some years after the 
close of the Revolution, took the lead of all the other 
Jersey towns as a scene of ghostly performances. 

For years back many of the people had been con- 
vinced that an occasional witch had appeared among 
them, getting into the churns and preventing the but- 
ter from coming, breaking the legs of sheep in jump- • 
ing over the fence, causing their horses to become 
suddenly mysteriously sick, and making themselves 
obnoxious in various ways. But it was not until the 
year 1788 that New Jersey ghosts determined to go 
regularly into business at this place. 

Supernatural occurrences of this period attracted a 
great deal of attention, not only in the town itself, 
hut in the surrounding country ; and an account of 
what liapi)encd in Morristown during the time that 
the spirits were holding their visitations at that j)lace 
is related in an old pamphlet published in 1792, writ- 
ten by an anonymous person who had no faith what- 
ever in ghosts, but who liad a firm belief in the 
efficacy of long words and comph'catcd phraseology. 
We will take the story from this oltl i)amphlet. 



195 

For a long time there had been a tradition that a 
vast treasure was buried on Schooley's Mountain, or, 
as it was then spelled, Schooler's Mountain, which was 
at that time a wild and desolate region more than 
twenty miles from Morristown. It is said that there 
were two gentlemen of the place who were particu- 
larly strong in their belief in this treasure, and they 
felt sure that all that was necessary in order to ob- 
tain it was to find some man who had knowledge of 
the habits and customs and requirements of the spirits 
in regard to treasures. Having their minds on this 
subject, it was not long before they heard of such a 
man. This was Mr. Ransford Rogers, a schoolmaster 
in Connecticut, who knew many things, and who i)re- 
tended to know many more. He really did understand 
something about chemistry, was very ingenious and 
plausible, and had been frequently heard to say that 
he was not afraid of spirits, and was able to call them 
up, converse with them, and afterwards cause them to 
disappear. This was exactly the man needed by the 
two gentlemen of Morristown, and they went to Con- 
necticut to see him. 

When the business of the visitors was made known 
to Rogers, he was delighted, for here was an ()pi)or- 
tunity to get into a good business, which would i)roba- 
bly be infinitely more pleasant than teaching. So he 
gave up his school and came to Morristown, being 
under contract to the two gentlemen to do what he 
could to induce the spirits to reveal the i)lace of the 
concealed treasure in Schooley's Mountain. But as it 
would not do for a stranger to come into the town 



and hang out a sign, stating that he was a spirit raiser, 
it was necessary for Rogers to pretend that he had 
come on other business, and so he took charge of a 
small school outside of the town, but gave the greater 
part of his time to investigating the minds of the peo- 
ple of Morristown, in order that he might find out 
what he could do in the way of duping them ; and in 
the words of the old writer, he found that this would 
be a good place for the " marvelous exhibitions which 
he was able to facilitate with the greatest alacrity." 

Of course, he was not at all willing to begin business 
with the support of only two persons, and the first thing 
he did was to gather together as many men as possi- 
ble who really wished to be rich, and who were will- 
ing to be governed by him in regard to the way in 
which they should go about obtaining the vast hoard 
buried far away in the mountain. After a time he 
succeeded in getting together as many as forty men, 
who all thoroughly believed in his honesty and in his 
ability to take them out to Schooley's Mountain, to 
call up the spirits who guarded tlie treasure, to induce 
them to turn it over to them, and then to vanish peace- 
ably, without offering to molest or harm any one. 

But it was a long time before Rogers was ready to 
lead his company on the great quest. There were 
many, many things that had to be done befc^-e they 
could start, and he soon found that he was not able 
to work out his great scheme alone ; so he went back 
to Connecticut and got another schoolmaster, to whom 
he divulged his secret, and brought him to Morristown, 
and the two together went into the spirit business with 



197 

great energy and enterprise. Night after night the 
company of treasure seekers met together, sometimes 
in a dark room, and sometimes out in the wild, lonely 
fields, close to black forests, and out of sight and hear- 
ing of human abodes. 

Rogers was a chemist ; and he frequently went out 
to one of these lonely meeting places in the afternoon 
and prepared a mine, which he exploded during the 
midnight meetings, and thus created a great wonder 
and terror among his followers. When they were in- 
doors, there would be knockings and strange voices 
heard coming through the cracks ; these voices pro- 
ceeding from the other schoolmaster, who coverecf his 
mouth with what the writer of the pamphlet calls 
"a superficial machine," probably a bit of tin with a 
hole in it, which so disguised his voice that it was not 
recognized. 

When they were out of doors in the black night, they 
would sometimes see a ghost flit about under the trees 
at the edge of the woods ; and the second schoolmas- 
ter, well wrapped uj) in a sheet, seems to have made 
as good a ghost as could have been found anywhere. 
There were many supernatural performances, and 
among them was a great act, in which each one of 
the members of the company lay flat on his face in 
the field with his eyes shut, holding in one out- 
stretched hand a sheet of paj:)er. This was done in 
the hope that the sj)irits would write their instruc- 
tions on the paper. Mr. Rogers knelt down with the 
others and held his paper ; but it was not a blank 
sheet like the others. When this performance was 



198 

over, all the papers were shaken together, and then 
they were drawn out one by one ; and judge of the 
surprise and awe of all present, when one of them 
would contain some writing, — generally in a beautiful 
hand, such as could only be expected from a super- 
natural being (or a schoolmaster), — which would be 
found to be instructions as to what must be done. 




The most important of these directions ordered that 
before any march could be made toward Schooley's 
Mountain, or any definite directions given in regard to 
the whereabouts of the treasure, each member should 
jxiy to the spirits, through Mr. Rogers, who would 
kindly act as agent, the sum of twelve jiounds. And, 
moreover, this must not be paid in the jiaper money then 
current in New Jersey, which was called " loan money," 
and which would Udt pass outside of the State, but in 



199 

gold or silver. When every member had jxiid in his 
twelve pounds, then the party would be led to the 
place of the treasure. 

When they found out what they had to do, each 
man went to work to try, if possible, to raise the 
twelve pounds ; but Rogers soon saw that it would 
be impossible for some of them to do this, as specie 
money was so hard to get, and he reduced the sum, 
in some cases, to six or four pounds. He was a good 
business manager, and would not try to get out of a 
man more than that man could pay. 

Not one of the people engaged in this affair had 
the slightest idea that Rogers was deceiving them. 
It is not likely that any of them were people of much 
culture or means ; and it is said that some of them 
went so far as to sell their cattle, and mortgage their 
farms, in order to get gold or silver to pay to the 
good schoolmaster who was generously acting as a 
mutual friend to both parties. But what were these 
sacrifices compared to the treasure they would obtain 
when at last they should be permitted to dig uj) the 
buried hoard on Schooley's Mountain ! 

It was now winter, and of course they could not 
start on the expedition in bad weather ; but meeting 
after meeting was held, and it was at last definitely 
promised that the expedition should go forth from 
Morristown early in May. On the first of that month, 
they all gathered at midnight in the lonely field, ami 
there was a terrible scene. There were more fire- 
works and explosions than usual, and one of the 
spirits ap{)eared at the edge of the wood greatly ex- 



200 

cited, stamping his feet, and rushing about under the 
trees ; and when Rogers went to see what was the 
matter, — for of course none of the others would dare 
to speak to a spirit, — he found that the supernatural 
beings with whom they had so long been in communi- 
cation, and who were now scattered about in all parts 
of the woods, were very angry and incensed because 
they had become aware that some of the party were 
unfaithful, and had divulged the secrets which had 
been made known to them. They were so thoroughly 
indignant, in fact, that they refused to go on with the 
affair for a time, and announced that the cxi)cdition 
to Schooley's Mountain would be postj^oncd until they 
were positively certain that every man who was to go 
there was the sort of man who would never let any- 
body into the awful, soul-dazzling secret which would 
be divulged. So they must all go home, and wait 
until this important matter could be satisfactorily 
arranged. 

Strange to say, they all did go home, and waited, 
and not one of them suspected Rogers. 

The schoolmaster had obtained a good deal of 
money, but he had not enough. So, in less than a 
month, he started another company, this time a small 
one, and began to go through his performances with 
them. But he soon fouiul he could not make much 
money out of five men, antl he began to get a little 
braver, and thought he would try what he eouKl do 
with the better class of people in Morristown ; and, 
having discovered that a very good ghost could be 
called u[) by means oi a while sheet and a " superfi- 



cial machine," he dressed himself up one ni_G;ht, and 
made a supernatural call upon a jj^entleman in good 
standing in the church. When he had appeared at 
the bedside of this good man, he told him all about 
the treasure of Schooley's Mountain, and, if he wanted 
some of it, how he might obtain it. 

The gentleman, having never seen a ghost, sup- 
posed, of course, that this was an authorized appari- 
tion, and became greatly interested in what was told 
him. The next day, according to directions, he went 
around among his friends in the church, and soon 
formed a considerable company, who all believed, that, 
if they did what they were told to do, they could go to 
Schooley's Mountain and become immensely wealthy. 

They did a great many things that they were told 
to do: they met in dark rooms, as the other party had 
met; they went out into a lonely field at midnight; 
they held out papers to be written on ; and, more than 
that, they conducted their meetings with prayer and 
other solemnities. And they all promised to pay twelve 
pounds in gold as an earnest of their good faith in 
the spirits, and to deliver the money to that great 
miracle worker, Mr. Rogers, who would remit it to 
the spirits. 

The schoolmaster found it necessary to be more mys- 
tical and weird in his dealings with this second party 
than with the first. lie did a great many strange 
things which savored of magic and alchemy. Among 
other things, he got some fine bone dust, which he as- 
sured his followers was the dust of the bodies of the 
spirits who were to lead them to the treasure ; and a 



little of this, wrapped up in a paper, he gave to each 
one of them, which they were to keep secret, and pre- 
serve as a magical charm. 

One of the company, an old gentleman who was 
sometimes a little absent-minded, went to bed one night 
and left the magical packet in one of his pockets ; and 
his wife, probably looking for small change, found it. 
She could not imagine what it was, but she was afraid 
it was something connected with witchcraft, and was 
greatly troubled about it. The next day she told her 
husband of the discovery, and was so very persistent 
that he should explain to her what it meant, that at 
last he thought it wise to tell her the whole proceed- 
ing, and so prevent her from interfering with the great 
and important business with which he was concerned. 
He made her promise secrecy, and soon she had heard 
all about Rogers, the spirits, and the buried gold. 
She became convinced that it was all the work of the 
devil, and she went off among her friertds and began to 
talk about it. 

Now there was a great excitement, not only on the 
part of the believers, but among the spirits themselves; 
and Rogers, who had enlisted two new men in his 
scheme, made his ghosts work hard to keep up the de- 
lusion among his followers. All four of them, dressed 
in sheets, went about making communications when- 
ever they had a chance, and assuring the members of 
the band of treasure hunters that everything would 
soon be all right, and that they nutst not allow their 
faith to be shaken by gossipers and scandalmongers. 

Rogers himself, in his gliostly costume, went one 



203 

ni.Gjht to the house of a gjentleman who was his fol- 
lower, and made some important communications to 
him ; but as the schoolmaster had been encouraging 
himself by some strong drink before setting out on 
his round of apparitions, he talked in such a queer 
way to his disciple, that the latter became suspicious. 
The next morning he found horse tracks from his 
door to Rogers's house, and so discovered that the 
ghost had come from that place on horseback. Fur- 
ther investigations followed, and it was not long before 
it became quite plain that Rogers had been playing a 
wcll-]:»lanned trick upon the inhabitants of Morristown, 
and he was arrested. 

Every one, however, had not lost faith in him, and 
there was an old gentleman — whose name the ancient 
pamphlet very kindly conceals, calling him by the name 
of "Compassion" — who went bail for him, and he 
was released ; whereupon he and his friends decamped. 
However, Rogers was again arrested, and this time 
he confessed the whole of his share in raising the 
ghosts of Morristown. 

But, as has been said, he was a man of ability, and 
able to take care of himself, and in some way he 
managed to escape from custody, and was seen no 
more in New Jersey. His followers, who had sent 
their gold and silver to the spirits by means of his 
kind offices, never saw their money again ; and the vast 
treasures buried at Schooley's Mountain still remain 
hidden from all men. 



A JERSEYMAN AND HIS ROYAL CROWN. 

WE have told the story of the lord who lived at 
Basking Ridge ; now we will tell the story of a 
much more exalted personage, one whn had sat upon 
a throne, and worn a crown and royal robes rich with 
diamonds and precious stones, and who lived on a 
breezy hill on the banks of the Delaware. What he 
was doing in New Jersey, and how he had come to 
wear a crown and royal robes, we will now jjrocecd 
to tell. 

This exalted personage was not a king when he was 
living in New Jersey, but he had been a king. In 
fact, if we may not say that he had been two kings, 
we can say that he had been a king twice. He was 
Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest brother of the great em- 
])eror. Napoleon, who, after having conquered a great 
many nations of luu'ope, and having deposed their 
kings, sujijilied them with new sovereigns out of his 
own familw Joseph was sent to Italy to be King of 
Naples. He did not jiarticularly want to be king, and 
he knew that the people did not want him, and after 
he had been in Naples some time, reigning under his 
brother's orders with no great success, the emperor 
determined to ti-ansfer him to Si)ain, whose throne 
204 



20S 

had just been made vacant. Having been informed 
that he was to go to Madrid, Joseph obeyed, but he 
did not like it. 

Moreover, the people of Spain did not like it, and 
after a time they rose up in rebellion, and were assisted 
by the English and Portuguese, and forced the king 
to fly from Spain. 

The ex-king of Naples and Spain had various ad- 
ventures in France and Switzerland ; and when the 
power of the great Napoleon came to an end, he was 
obliged to fly, or he also might have been sent to 
Elba or some other place equally undesirable, so he 
determined to come to America. In a little brig of 
two hundred tons, a very small vessel to sail on the 
ocean, he crossed the Atlantic in disguise, not even 
the captain of the vessel knowing who he was. He 
was accompanied by his secretary ; and when the two 
reached America and made themselves known, they 
were treated with great respect and attention. In fact, 
America owed so much to France, that she was very 
willing to show her gratitude. 

Now that he was well out of lun'ope, Joseph Bona- 
parte gave up all idea of returning, and in deciding 
to settle here it was not surprising that he chose to 
make his home in New Jersey. He bought a place 
near Bordentown, on a high wooded hill called Point 
Breeze, and built a house, which was truly splendid 
for those days. It had grand halls and staircases and 
banquet halls, and it must have been larger and more 
imposing than Lord Stirling's. His estate, which cov- 
ered more than a thousand acres, was beautifully laid 



2o6 



out in drives and gardens and lawns, and everything 
on the place was arranged in a style of beauty and 
grandeur. 

It was three years before this great house, with its 
surroundings, was finished, and ready for the ex-king's 
residence ; and when at last he went there, he lived 
in ex-regal style. His wife was not with him, hav- 
ing remained in Italy on 
account of ill health, 
and her physicians 
would never allow 
her to come to 
America. Hut he 
had two daughters 
who were with him 
during j)art of his 
residence in New 
Jersey, and there 
were persons who as- 
serted that he had also 
brought with him the crown of Spain and the royal 
robes of Italy. 

It generally hai)pens, when a sovereign is obliged 
to abdicate and to fly from his kingdom, that he 
arranges matters so that he shall not become a pauper 
when he arrives at the place of refuge. If he is not 
able to carry away anything more than a valise, he is 
much more likely to put his royal jewels into it than 
to fill it up with night clothes and hairbrushes ; so 
when lionaparte came to New Jersey, he came as a 
very rich num. 




207 

When his kinp^ly mansion was ready to be supplied 
with art treasures, such as ornamented the palaces of 
Europe, the ex-king sent across the ocean for costly 
paintings and beautiful sculpture with which to fill his 
new house ; and if any crowned heads had happened 
to visit him, he would not have been ashamed to wel- 
come them beneath his roof. People of royal blood 
— that is, the same kind of royal blood that he had — 
did come over to visit him. Louis Napoleon, after- 
ward Emperor of France, came, when a young man, 
and spent some weeks with his uncle. While there, 
it is said, this young man went out shooting on the 
estate, and, finding the birds near the house easier to 
hit than those at a distance, he blazed away at any 
feathered creatures he saw in the garden, so that the 
gardener made a complaint. 

But even then this young Louis Napoleon had 
begun to have dreams in regard to his succession to 
the imperial throne of France, and he did not like to 
be snubbed and scolded by an uncle who had had all 
the regal honors he was ever likely to get, and who 
therefore had no right to put on airs in his dealings 
with the prospective wearer of a crown. So there was 
a quarrel between the two, and there are reports to 
the effect that Louis Napoleon took revenge upon his 
uncle by cutting his fruit trees with a hatchet, with- 
out, however, imitating Washington in regard to sub- 
sequent truthfulness. 

Besides visitors from abroad, many distinguished 
Americans visited the ex-king. Among these were 
Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Jnhn Ouincy Adams. 



208 

General Lafayette, also, when he came to this country, 
was received with great state by the Count de Sur- 
villiers, the title under which Joseph Bonaparte lived 
at Bordentown. 

This ex-king never became an American citizen by 
taking out naturalization papers ; but the Legislature of 
New Jersey treated him very well, and passed a reso- 
lution which enabled him to hold property in this 
State, and to thus become, in fact, a Jerseyman. 

But although our ex-king was now established on 
the free soil of America, he did not feel altogether safe. 
His family had come to grief; and there was reason 
to fear, that, as a member of that family, England, 
or France, or Spain, might demand him as a prisoner, 
to be taken across the ocean to answer the charge of 
unlawful occupation of a throne. 

It is quite possible that the people of the neighbor- 
hood imagined that the ex-king was in greater fear 
of molestation from his former royal brethren than was 
really the case. Their reasons for supposing that he 
was anxious to defend himself against surprise and 
capture had some ground, for there were some strange 
things about that ex-royal estate, — things that were 
not known in any other part of New Jersey. There 
was a tall building called a belvedere, from which the 
country and the livcr might be surveyed for a long 
distance in every cHrection ; but, stranger far than that, 
there were subterranean passages which led from the 
house to unfrequented parts of the grounds. These 
pas.sages were well built, arched with brick, and high 
enough tor peo])le to walk upright in tliem ; and 



209 

although persons of quiet and unimaginative minds 
thought that they were constructed for the purpose 
of allowing the occupants to go down to the lake or 
to the other portions of the grounds without getting 
wet if it should happen to be raining", there were many 
people who believed that for sudden showers a good 




-I 



- '^'^'^■mm. 



stock of umbrellas would be cheaper and quite as 
useful, and that these costly passages could be meant 
for nothing else than to give opportunity for escape, 
in case foreign emissaries or officers of the law should 
come in search of an ex-king who was wanted on 
the other side of the Atlantic. 

F'or whatever reason these passages were built, 
the spectacle of an ex-king, carrying a crown and his 

STO. OF N.J. — 14 



royal robes in a hand bag, slipping out from among 
some bushes to tramp along the dusty road to Trenton 
or Burlington, was never seen. Nobody ever thought 
it worth while to come to New Jersey to demand him 
or his property. 

During his residence at Bordentovvn, which continued 
for about fourteen years, Joseph Bonaparte was very 
popular with the people of the neighborhood. They 
looked upon him as a friend and neighbor; but at the 
same time they did not lose sight of the fact, that al- 
though he was now a country gentleman of New Jersey, 
with his lawn and his flower garden to look after, he 
had sat upon two thrones, and had been a sovereign 
of Naples and Spain. They called him "king," and 
his house was known as the " palace ; " and for this 
reason the people of other States made some mild fun 
of New Jersey, calling it a foreign country. 

But if this ex-king had been a rich country gentle- 
man of the neighborhood, he could not have made 
himself more popular. He was hospitable, and fre- 
quently gave entertainments, and he sent flowers and 
fruits from his gardens to his friends and neighbors. 
He made roads, and contributed in many ways to the 
improvement of the country round about his home. 
In winter time the boys of Bordentown came to skate 
ujjon his i^onds ; and at such times he nearly always 
offered them refreshments, which consisted of (.jiianti- 
ties of chestinits, which ho scattered on the ice so that 
the youngsters might scramble for them. 

In many ways his kind and sociable disposition made 
him so much liked, that it is very probable that it the 



211 

ofliccrs of the law had come to take him back to 
Europe, he would have received such timely notice of 
their approach that it would not have been necessary 
for him to hurry away through his underground pas- 
sages. New Jersey is a reasonable and hospitable 
State, and when an ex-king comes to reside within her 
borders, he will be as well treated, so long as he 
behaves himself, as if he were a poor immigrant from 
Europe, coming with his wife and family to clear away 
the forest, and make himself a home. 

Just before Joseph started for America, the affairs of 
his family were at their lowest ebb. His great brother, 
the emperor, had fallen from his high state, and could 
look forward to nothing but imprisonment by the Euro- 
pean countries, whose thrones he had for so long been 
in' the habit of upsetting or threatening. In his last 
interview with Napoleon, when on his way to the ship 
which was to take him to America, Joseph generously 
offered to change places with his brother, and to let 
the ex-emperor fly to America instead of the ex-king. 
It was very difficult for any one of the Napoleon 
family to get away from France at that time ; but 
Joseph had made a very excellent plan by which pas.s- 
ports were provided for two persons coming to America 
on business, and his brother could have used one of 
those as well as himself. 

But the great Napoleon declined to run away in this 
manner. He remained, and was sent to St. Helena. 
What would have occurred in the neighborhood of Bor- 
dentown, N.J., had Napoleon Bonaparte, conqueror of 
Europe, ruler of nations, and disposer of crowns, the 



212 

hero of Austerlitz, Marengo, and Wagram, taken up 
his residence at Point Breeze, and established himself 
as a citizen of the State, cannot easily be imagined. 
The geniality, sociability, and hospitality of the ex-king 
could hardly have been expected from the ex-emperor ; 
and, surrounded as he would have been in time by 
devoted followers who would have exiled themselves 
from their country for his sake, there might have been 
a little empire in New Jersey which would have been 
exceedingly interesting to tourists. 

Moreover, if the allied powers of Europe had sent 
over a fleet to bring back their great enemy, who knows 
but that they might have found, when they reached 
Bordentown, not a tall lookout tower and underground 
passages for escape, but a fort with ramparts, redoubts, 
a moat, a drawbridge, and mounted cannon ready to 
sweep the Delaware and the surrounding country ? 
However this might have been, it is certain that Napo- 
leon's refusal to take his brother's place must ever be 
a source of satisfaction to the people of Bordentown 
and the rest of the country. 

As a proof that Joscjih l^onaparte had had enough 
of royalty, and not enough of New Jersey, it is stated 
that a delegation of prominent men from Mexico, which 
country was then in a very disturbed condition, came 
to him during his residence at Bordentown, and 
offered him the throne of Mexico. In making answer 
to this ])r()i)()siti()n, oiu" ex-king did not hesitate a mo- 
ment. He told the delegation, that, having already 
worn two crowns, he desired never again to wear 
another. Tlie old fable of the fox which had lost its 



21 



tail did not probably come into his 
mind ; but if it had, he might well have 
spoken of it to his Mexican \ibitors 

After years hiid elapsed without 
any attempt on 
the part of Euro- 
pean powers to 
arrest him, our ex- 
king, Joseph, be- 
gan to feel safe, 
and he madt a 
visit to England. 
He returned to 
America, but went 
back again, and 
died in Italy in 
1844, having given 
to New Jersey the i)ecu 
iar and unique ])ositi()n 
of being the only State in thi 
Union which ever numbered among her 
citizens the owner of a royal crown and regal robes. 

To be sure, there is nothing in this for the people 
of a republican State to be proud of ; but New Jersey 
may be allowed to say that there never was a royal 
person who was of less injury to the ])eople among 
whom he dwelt than her ex-king at Bordentown, and 
she may add that there have been very few •)! his 
class who have been of as much advantage to his 




THE DEY, THE BEY, AND SOME JERSEY 
SAILORS. 




NEW JERSEY is very intimate with the ocean. 
For nearly the whole of her length, from Cape 
May to Sandy Hook, the waves of the Atlantic roll 
and roar. Wherever one may be in this State, it is 
not necessary to travel very far in order to smell the 
fresh sea air. 

It is true that but few of the great commercial ves- 
sels leave and arrive at the ports of New Jersey, and 
that the jiresence of na\al \csscls in her waters is due 
to the fact that she is part owner of the Bay of New 
York ; hut it is also true, that, although she has not 
214 



215 

sent forth ships to fight the battles of her country 
upon the ocean wave, she has sent out to command 
those ships some of the best-known men who have 
ever worn the American naval uniform. 

One of the first occasions in which our naval ves- 
sels played a part in foreign waters was of a rather 
romantic nature, though not particularly calculated to 
raise our country's flag in our own estimation or that 
of other nations. 

It was at the end of the eighteenth century, when 
we had begun to trade in various parts of the world, 
that our merchant vessels sailing on the Mediterra- 
nean were greatly molested by the pirates of what 
was called the Barbary Coast. The half-civilized and 
warlike people of Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis, and Mo- 
rocco, had long been in the habit of sending out their 
armed vessels to prey upon the ships of all civilized 
countries ; and when American ships entered the Med- 
iterranean, they soon found out the state of affairs. 
Several vessels were captured, and the crews were 
sent on shore and imprisoned or enslaved. 

Nearly all the European maritime powers had de- 
fended their commerce against these savage pirates, 
not by great guns and vessels of war, but by humbly 
paying tribute. Every year these great nations sent 
money and gifts to the Dey of Algiers, the Bey of 
Tunis, and the other rascals ; and in consideration of 
this tribute, their vessels were graciously allowed to 
sail on the Mediterranean without molestation. 

It was not long before the government of the United 
States saw very plainly that it must pay tribute, con- 



2l6 

quer the Barbary States, or quietly submit to the cap- 
ture of all American merchantmen which might sail 
into the Mediterranean. The easiest thing to do was 
to pay the tribute ; and as the other civilized nations 
did this, the United States followed their example. 

In the year 1800 a United States vessel bearing the 
name of "George Washington," and commanded by 
William Bainbridge, a Jerseyman who had been at sea 
ever since he was fourteen years old, sailed to Algiers, 
carrying on board the ship which bore the name of 
the great man who had made his country free and 
independent of the most powerful nation of the earth, 
the tribute which was annually due from the United 
States to an African sovereign, the Dey of Algiers. 

This commission of the United States vessel seemed 
more humiliating from the fact that our country had 
just come out of a war with France, in which our 
frigate "Constellation" had defeated and cajitured one 
of the vessels of that great naval power. But we had 
agreed to pay for the privilege of trading in the Medi- 
terranean, and, although the countries of the l^arbary 
Coast had no more right in that sea than Spain, 
France, or Italy, they chose to assert their right, and 
we had acknowledged it. 

When Bainbridge had arrived at Algiers, and had 
handed over the IrilMitc which he had brought, he suji- 
posed that his Inisiucss was over, and prepared to sail 
away ; but the Dcy, who was a jjotentate accustomed 
to ask for what he wanted and to get it, informed the 
United States commander that he wished to send him 
upon an errand. 



217 

These Barbary powers were all subject to the great 
head of the Mohammedan nations, the Sultan of Tur- 
key ; and the Dey desired to send an ambassador to 
his imperial master, and as the " George Washington " 
was about to sail, he determined to make use of her. 

When Captain l^ainbridgc- was informed that the 
Dey commanded him to take the ambassador to Con- 
stantinople, he very naturally declined, and thereupon 
a great hubbub arose. The Dey informed Bainbridge, 
that, as the United States paid him tribute, its people 
were his slaves ; they were bound, as were his other 
subjects, to obey his commands, and to do what he 
told them without hesitation or question. If they 
were not his slaves, why did they come here, meekly 
bearing money and other gifts to their master.' 

All this had no effect in convincing Caj^tain Bain- 
bridge that he was a slave of the Dey of Algiers, 
and bound to go upon his errands ; but there was an 
American consul there, and he saw that the matter 
was very serious indeed. The harbor was commanded 
by forts mounted with heavy guns, and if these were 
brought to bear upon the " George Washington," she 
would certainly be blown to pieces without much 
chance of defending herself ; and, moreover, such a 
conflict would surely bring about a war with Algiers, 
and it was not at all desirable that an American • 
officer, bound upon friendly business, should provoke 
war between his country and another. 

This reason was a very bitter dose for Captain 
Bainbridge ; but after consideration he found himself 
obliged to take it. If he refused, there would be a 



United States ship the less ; and he knew not how 
many American ships, now sailing without fear upon 
the Mediterranean, might be seized and burned, and 
their crews thrown into horrible slavery. He had no 
right to precipitate anything of this sort, and conse- 
quently, under protest, he agreed to take the Algerine 
ambassador to Constantinople. But this was not all the 
high-minded Dey demanded. He insisted that when 
the " George Washington " sailed out of the harbor, 
she should sail, not as a United States vessel, but as 
a ship of Algiers, and that she should carry on the 
mainmast, where generally floated the stars and stripes, 
the Algerine flag, while he kindly consented that the 
flag of her own country might float from the foremast. 
It was as difficult to refuse this second demand as it 
was the first, and so the " George Washington " went 
out of Algiers with the pirate's flag proudly floating 
from its mainmast. 

As soon as he got out of sight of land, Bainbridge 
hauled down the Algerine flag and put up his own ; 
but this was a very small satisfaction and not particu- 
larly honorable. 

When the " George Washington " reached Constan- 
tinople, she created a sensation. Never before in the 
waters of the Golden Horn had the stars and stripes 
been seen, and the people of the city could not im- 
agine where this strange shiji came from. Some of 
these people had heard of America and the United 
States, but they knew of it only in a vague and misty 
way, very much as we understand some parts of the 
interior of China. If Captain Bainbridge had told 



219 

them he was from New Jersey, he might as well have 
told them he came from the moon. 

But the Americans were very well received in Con- 
stantinople, and the officers of the government were 
glad to welcome them and do them honor. Captain 
Bainbridge and the Turkish admiral became very good 
friends ; and when the latter heard how the former 
had been treated at Algiers, he condemned the inso- 
lent Dey, and laid the matter before the Turkish Gov- 
ernment. In consequence of this, Bainbridge was 
given a paper, signed by the Sultan, which would pro- 
tect him thereafter from any such disrespectful treat- 
ment from any of the minor Mohammedan powers. 
When Captain Bainbridge had enjoyed all the Turk- 
ish hospitality his duties permitted him to receive, he 
sailed from Constantinople and again entered the port 
of Algiers. The Dey was glad to see him come back, 
for he had some more business for him ; and our Jersey 
captain was soon informed that he must sail away 
again on another errand for his Barbary master. But 
this time the Barbary master w^as very much aston- 
ished, for Bainbridge peremptorily refused to do any- 
thing of the kind. 

Now the blood of the Dey boiled hot, and he vowed 
that if the " George Washington " did not immedi- 
ately sail forth upon his service, he would declare war 
upon this miserable little country which owned it, and 
he would put the commander and crew of the ship in 
chains, and clap them into dungeons. But Bainbridge 
did not turn pale, nor did he tremble. He simply 
pulled from his pocket the paper which he had re- 



220 

ceived from the Sultan, and allowed the furious Dey 
to glance over it. When the raving pirate read the 
words of his imperial master, all the fury and the 
courage went out of him, and he became as meek and 
humble as if he had been somebody come to pay a 
tribute to himself. He received Bainbridge as a friend 
and an equal, and, from commanding and threatening 
him, became so gracious, and made so many offers of 
service and friendship, that l^ainbridge decided to take 
advantage of this auspicious change of temper. 

Not long before, the French consul at Algiers had 
been seized and im])risoned, together with all the 
Frenchmen who were doing business in that ]-)lace ; 
for, so long as people belonged to a country which 
was a great way off, the Dey considered himself an 
all-powerful ruler, who could do what he pleased with 
them without fear of their far-away government, liain- 
bridge determined to try to do something for these 
poor men ; and when he again met the smiling and 
pleasant Dey, he urged their release. The i)a|)er 
which Bainbridge received from the Sultan must have 
been written in very strong terms; for, although the 
demand of the American cajjtain was a heaw fne, 
the Dey agreed to it, and when the " (icorge Wash- 
ington " sailed from Algiers, she carried away all the 
I^'reiichmen who had been li\ing there. 

Ikiinbritlge w;is not at all satislietl with this Algerine 
business; and when he rc|)orte(I tlie affair to the authori- 
ties at home, he recjuested that he might never again 
l)e sent to iarr\- tribute to Algiers unless he could 
deliver it horn the mouths of his cannon. 



221 

The next year the Bashaw of TripoH. who had had 
no tribute from the United States, began to be very 
uneasy in his mind because he did not fare so well 
as the other Barbary potentates, to whom money and 
merchandise were delivered every year. He accord- 
ingly spoke up in defense of his rights. It is not 
likely that he knew where the United States was, 
what sort of a country it was, or how large or how 
small its army and navy might be. He knew that 
the Americans were miserable, humble peo})le, who 
paid tribute to the Bey and the Dey, and he could 
see no particular rea.son why they should not pay it 
to the Bashaw. Consequently he wrote a letter to the 
President of the United States, in which he expressed 
his views very pointedly, and informed him, that, if 
proper arrangements were not made in six months, he 
would destroy all the American ships on the Mediter- 
ranean, and declare war against the United States. 

Strange to say, a thrill of terror did not run through 
the government of the United States ; and six months 
passed without any notice having been taken of this 
impertinent communication. Thereupon the Bashaw 
cut down the flag pole in front of the American con- 
sul's office at Tripoli, and commenced the great work 
of annihilating the United States of America. He 
began on the small American trading vessels which 
he found along the Barbary Coast, intending probably, 
when his convenience would permit, to sail out upon 
the Atlantic, find the United States, and help himself 
to the treasures which its government had so dis- 
respectfully declined to hand over to him. The e.\- 



ample of the Bash*aw had a great effect upon the Dey 
and the Bey and the sub-Sultan ; and Algiers, Tunis, 
and Morocco also informed the President of the United 
States that they were going to war with him if he did 
not immediately promise to pay tribute more regularly 
and in articles of better quality. 

But the United States was getting tired of this sort 
of thing, and determined, no matter what the other 
civilized powers chose to do, that no more tribute 
should be paid by it to these insolent pirates. Con- 
sequently our government informed the mighty mon- 
archs of the Barbary Coast that it was quite ready for 
war, and sent four ships to the Mediterranean, one of 
which, the "Essex," was commanded by Bainbridge. 

But the fleet did not do very much on this expedi- 
tion, and the war with North Africa dragged consid- 
erably. Bainbridge came back to America, and after 
a time returned in command of the " Philadelphia." 
There was a small squadron with him, but he sailed 
faster than the other vessels, and reached the Medi- 
terranean alone. Here he overhauled a Moorish ves- 
sel which had cai)tured an American brig under a 
commission from Morocco. Having rescued the Amer- 
ican vessel, the crew of which were prisoners in the 
pirates' hold, the "Philadelphia" took the Moorish 
vessel as a ])rize to Cibraltar, and then started out 
again to see what could be done to humble the port 
of Tripoli. 

In this undertaking our Jersey man did not meet with 
good fortune. In chasing a Tripolitan vessel which 
was discovered near the harbor, the " Phihidelj)hia " 



223 

ran upon a reef, and there stuck fast. Everything was 
done that could be done to get her off ; even the can- 
non were thrown overboard to Hghten her, but it was 
of no use. She was hard and fast ; and when the peo- 
ple of Tripoli found out what had happened, their gun- 
boats came out of the harbor, and the "Philadelphia" 
was captured, and all on board, including Bainbridge, 
were made prisoners. They were taken to Tripoli, and 
there remained in captivity nineteen months. Now the 
soul of the Bey swelled high in his bosom as he smiled 
at this attempt of the little country across the ocean 
to resist his power. 

The Tripolitans found that they had gained a great 
prize in the " Philadelphia," that fine war ship, which 
seemed to have been left on the reef as a present to 
them. After a good deal of work, they towed her into 
the harbor close to the town, where they repaired her 
leaks, and put her in order to use against their ene- 
mies the Americans, who did not know how to keep 
a good thing when they had it. When Commodore 
Preble came, six months afterwards, to blockade the 
port of Tripoli, he discovered that the "Philadelphia" 
was nearly ready for sea ; and, to prevent the disaster 
of having a United States ship with United States 
cannon bear down upon them, he determined to de- 
stroy the " Philadelphia," if possible, and an excellent 
plan for the jnirpose was devised. A small vessel 
called the "Intrepid," which had been captured .some 
time previously, was manned with a crew of over 
eighty men, commanded by Lieutenant Decatur, who, 
years after, finished the Algerine war. 



224 




This brave little ves- 
sel sailed into the harbor 
IS if she had been an 
dinary merchantman, 
nd managed to drift 
own close to the fine 
t ligate which the Tri- 
politans had snatched 
I loni their blundering 
enemy. The crew on 
board the " I'hiladel- 
phia " did not suspect 
the character of the lit- 
c vessel which came 
) close to them, until 
K' was made fast, and 
iiutre than eighty men 
^lirang up from the 
places where they had 
>een lying concealed 
on deck, and 
swarmed over 
the side of the 
I ligate. 

A m o n g 
these was a 
young sailor, 
I . a w r e n c e , 
from Burling- 
ton, N.J., who 
hadbeiiun life 



225 

early, having been a midshipman when he was only 
sixteen years old. When Commodore Preble asked 
for volunteers to go on this expedition to snatch from 
the hands of the pirates the prize which they 
thought they had won, Lawrence was one of the first 
volunteers, and acted as second in command of this 
expedition. 

The fight was not long. Many of the turbaned crew 
jumped overboard, and the others were quickly sub- 
dued. It would have been a grand thing if Decatur 
and his gallant sailors could have carried off the " Phil- 
adelphia," and have taken her out to the squadron. 
But this was absolutely impossible. Her foremast had 
been cut down in order to lighten her so that she could 
be floated off the reef, and many of her sails were 
wanting. Knowing that the vessel would not be found 
in sailing trim, Preble had issued positive orders that 
no attempt should be made to capture her, but that 
she should be burned. 

The cannon from the town and from the war ves- 
sels in the port now began to fire ; but the men with 
Decatur and Lawrence knew exactly what they had to 
do, everything having been carefully arranged before- 
hand. They went to work without losing a minute, 
and set fire to the frigate in many places. The fiames 
and the smoke spread so rapidly that some of them 
had hardly time to get out of. the hold. Lieutenant 
Lawrence found he could not get on deck the way he 
came down, and was obliged to run along the hold 
and climb up forward. As quickly as ])ossil)le every 
one jumped on board the "Intrepid,'" and, without rely- 

STO. OK N.J. — 15 



226 

ing entirely on their sails to enable them to get away, 
they put out sixteen great oars, which were pulled with 
a will by three or four men to each oar. 

Now the whole harbor of Tripoli was in wild com- 
motion. The Americans stopped rowing for a moment 
to give three great cheers, and soon cannon shot were 
flying fast and furious after the retreating little vessel. 
But only one of them touched her, and that passed 
through a sail without doing much damage ; and she 
rowed until her sails caught the wind, and then went 
out of the harbor, and returned in triumph to the 
squadron. 

Soon after they had left the " Philadelphia," that 
great vessel, with her hull blazing and the flames crac- 
kling and climbing up her masts, took it upon herself, 
in these last minutes of her existence, to strike a blow 
for the flag of her country. Possibly suspecting that 
some attempt might be made to rescue the ship they 
had cajitured, the Tripolitans had loaded all her cannon 
so as to be ready to fire upon any vessel that might 
approach her. As the fire spread over her hull, the 
time came when the " Philadelphia " could do some- 
thing for herself ; and when the guns were hot enough, 
she let fly a broadside into the town, and then another 
one among the shipping. How much damage she did, 
we do not know ; but the soul of the Pashaw ceased 
to swell as he heard the roar of her last broadsides, 
and beheld her burning fragments scattered over the 
waters of the harbor. 

But when the Bashaw of Tripoli imprisoned Bain- 



227 

captured disappear in flames and smoke, he found he 
was not yet rid of Jersey sailors. Some months after- 
wards, when Commodore Preble was still off the Bar- 
bary Coast, there was a vessel in the squadron called 
the " Nautilus," which was commanded by a youn<^ 
Jersey man named Somers. He was a brave sailor, and 
had already distinguished himself on several occasions. 

Fighting the Bey was a good deal like trying to get 
at a rat in a hole, and, although there were some good 
fights in the Tripolitan waters, the fleet did not meet 
with much success at first. But the Americans were 
very anxious to do something effective, for at that 
time Bainbridge and his crew were imprisoned in the 
town, and no one knew what hardships and cruelties 
they might be enduring. 

After much consideration it was thought that a good 
way to strike a decisive blow would be to send a ves- 
sel loaded with shells and gunpowder into the harbor 
of Tripoli by night, and explode her there. This might 
result, it was thought, in the destruction of the forts 
and ships, and possibly part of the town, and so ter- 
rify the Bey that he would come to terms. Lieuten- 
ant Somers, who had been foremost in contriving this 
project, volunteered to command the expedition. The 
whole affair was so extremely dangerous that no one 
was ordered to take part in it, and all those who wished 
to go went of their own free will. 

The "Intrepid," the small vessel on which Decatur 
and Lawrence had sailed to burn the "Philadelphia," 
was still with the fleet, and this was heavily loaded 
with explosives of all kinds. The plan was, that after 



228 

nightfall the " Intrepid " should be sailed as near as 
possible to the town, and that, after lighting the slow 
match which communicated with the terrible cargo, 
those on board should take to two small boats which 
they had in tow, and row out of the harbor as fast as 
possible, leaving there the " Intrepid " to hurl fire and 
destruction into the enemy's strongholds. 

Before Somers started out on this perilous voyage, 
he addressed the few men who were to accompany 
him, and told them that he wanted no one to go who 
would not be willing to blow himself up rather than 
be captured. It was well known that the Tripolitans 
were short of ammunition, and if they suspected what 
sort of a vessel it was which floated by night into the 
harbor, they would board her and capture her, if it 
should be possible, and thus gain possession of a great 
quantity of powder and shell. Rather than that this 
should happen, Somers told his men that he would 
blow up the little vessel with all on board, if the 
enemy should take it. But no man flinched ; and after 
they had all taken leave of their friends on the fleet, 
as if they had been going to execution, the "Intrepid" 
slowly sailed away into the harbor, and it was not 
long before she was lost to view in the mists of the 
night. 

But after a time it became apparent to those on the 
American fleet that she was not lost to view to those 
in the harbor, for the guns of the fort began to fire 
on her. Everybody who had a glass kept it fixed on 
that part of the harbor where it was supposed Som- 
ers and his little vessel must be, and in course of time 



229 

they saw a light rapidly moving as if some one were 
carrying a lantern from one end of the vessel to the 
other. Then in less than a minute there was a blaze 
and a roar, and the whole harbor of Tripoli was 
lighted up as if there had been an explosion of fire- 
works. Sparks and fiery fragments flew into the air, 
and the waters seemed to be shaken as if by an earth- 
quake. Then all was silent and dark. 

Of course, the " Intrepid " had blown up, but how 
or why nobody on the fleet could know ; nor did Som- 
ers and his brave crew ever come back to tell them. 
Some people thought, and still think, that the " In- 
trepid " was about to be captured, and that Somcrs 
carried out his resolution to blow up the vessel under 
him rather than allow it to be taken. Others suppose 
that a red-hot cannon ball from one of the forts may 
have set the vessel on fire ; but the truth no one knows. 
We only know that this brave young Jerseyman went 
out to his fate determined to do his duty, no matter 
what happened, and that he died in doing it. 



: f 






SEA FIGHTS WITH A NOBLER FOE. 

THE war with the Rarbary pirates was all sorts 
of a war. Sometimes there was fighting, and 
sometimes there was none ; and after Bainbridge was 
released, he was engaged part of the time in the mer- 
cantile service until the war with Great Britain broke 
out in 1812. Early in this war, Bainbridge took com- 
mand of the " Constitution," the same vessel which, a 
few months before, had had a fight with the " Guer- 
ricre," in which the latter was captured. It is a good 
deal better, sometimes, to fight with a strong enemy 
who will stand up bravely in front of you, and let 
you see what he is, than to contend with a mean 
little one who is continually getting out of the way 
and bobbing up at unexpected places, and making it 
very difficult either to get at him or to know when 
he is going to get at you. Consequently there is no 
doubt that Bainbridge much ])referred to do battle 
with the naval power of (ireat l^ritain rather than 
with the pirates of Barbary. 

He sailed down the coast of South America, and 

there he met the "Java," a British frigate. He had 

a hard fight and a long fight, and the end of it was 

that the "Java" hauled down her flag after having 

230 



231 

a great portion of her crew killed and wounded ; and, 
as she was so thoroughly shattered and broken up 
by the guns of the " Constitution," the victors could 
not take her home as a prize, but were obliged to 
burn her. 

If any one had been inclined to deride the Jersey- 
man at sea, after what had happened to Bainbridge 
in the Mediterranean, he changed his opinion after 
the affair with the "Java." In fact, a gold medal 
was voted to the gallant captain by Congress. When 
the war with Great Britain was over, Bainbridge took 
a squadron to the Mediterranean to try his hand again 
at protecting American commerce, and humbling the 
pirates ; but fortune did not favor him this time, for 
Decatur had already settled the matter with the Dey, 
the Bey, and the rest of them, and peace was declared 
before Bainbridge arrived on the scene. Our Jersey 
sailor did not do any more fighting, but he held high 
positions in our navy, and died an honored commodore. 

Years after the affair with the " Philadelphia," when 
war had begun between the United States and Great 
Britain, there was a great chance for America to show 
what she could do on the sea. Then the fighting men 
in ships were more important to the country than the 
fighting men on shore ; and Captain Lawrence, our 
fighting sailor from Burlington, showed himself among 
the foremost of our naval heroes. 

Very early in the war he was in command of the 
" Hornet," a snappish vessel with more stings than 
one, and while cruising in South American waters 
he met the British man-of-war " Peacock." Now, 



232 

when a hornet and a peacock quarrel, lively times are 
likely to ensue, and so it happened in this case. 

The two vessels began by endeavoring to get into 
favorable positions, each anxious to rake the deck of 
the other. The "Peacock" did not spread her tail, 
but she spread her sail, and the "Hornet" buzzed 
this way and that, with her stings ready for action 
as soon as the proper moment should arrive. W^hen 
at last they actually began to fight, the battle was a 
terrible one, such as was possible only in those days 
of wooden ships. But a short distance apart, they 
poured into each other heavy shot and small shot ; 
musketry and cannon cracked and roared, while the 
clouds of smoke nearly hid the vessels from each 
other. This tremendous bombardment lasted about a 
quarter of an hour, and at the end of that time the 
"Peacock" struck her colors and surrendered. The 
captain and a good many of the crew had been killed, 
and the vessel was in such a demolished condition 
that there was not time to get all the prisoners and 
the wounded on board the " Hornet." The officers 
and men of the American vessel labored hard to save 
those on board their unfortunate enemy ; but the " Pea- 
cock" sank before this could be entirely accomjilished, 
and several of the British sailors, with three of those 
from the " Hornet," sank with her. 

Captain Lawrence was not only a brave man, but 
he was a very kind one. lie treated tlie ofTieers and 
crew of the " Peacock " so well, even jiroviding them 
with clothes (for they had no time to bring anything 
from their own vessel), that when the ])risoners reached 



233 

New York, the officers publicly thanked him in a paper 
which they drew up and signed. This victory, follow- 
ing our other brilliant exploits at sea, gave Lawrence 
great fame both here and abroad. 

A few months after the battle between the "Hor- 
net" and the "Peacock," Lawrence was again the 
hero of a great sea fight. The coast of New bhig- 
land was blockaded by a British fleet, and in the 
harbor of Boston lay the frigate "Chesapeake," com- 
manded by Captain Lawrence. He had been recently 
appointed to this vessel, and in fact had been in com- 
mand only ten days when he received a challenge to 
fight a naval duel. 

This proposition came from the cajitain of the Brit- 
ish frigate " Shannon," one of the blockading fleet, 
about the same size and strength as the " Chesapeake." 
The British captain sent a very polite letter to Cap- 
tain Lawrence ; for when people propose to fight duels, 
whether on land or sea, they are always extremely 
courteous before they begin to try to kill each other. 
The British captain said, that, as he understood the 
" Chesapeake " was now ready to go to sea, he would 
like her to come out and fight the " Shannon " for the 
honor of their respective flags. He offered the Ameri- 
can captain choice of fighting ground inside of certain 
limits, and promised that the rest of the l^ritish fleet 
should kee]) far away, so that Cajitain Lawrence need 
have no fear of being troubled by any vessel except 
the " Shannon." 

When Captain Lawrence read this challenge, he was 
as willing to go out and fight the duel as the British 



234 

captain was anxious to have him do so ; but he knew 
that his vessel was not nearly so well prepared as 
was the "Shannon." The British ship had been at sea 
for a long time, she was manned by a crew of brave 
sailors, and her captain was well acquainted with his 
ship and his men. 

The case was very different with the "Chesapeake." 
Lawrence had been on board scarcely long enough to 
find out what sort of a ship she was, but he had been 
on board long enough to discover that her crew was 
a very poor one. Many of them were Portuguese, 
they had not been well drilled, and, worse than that, 
they did not want to fight. Few of them had been 
in the service long enough to have a taste for naval 
warfare ; and if they had had their way, they would 
have let the " Shannon " lie outside until her captain 
grew gray, before they would go out and accept his 
challenge. The harbor was much more to their mind. 

But Captain Lawrence had no such idea. He ac- 
cejjted the challenge without hesitation, and ])rei)ared 
to go out and fight the duel. He would have been 
glad enough if he had had a good crew, but he woidd 
do his best with the crew he had. He put his ship 
in fighting trim, and his men in the best order possible, 
and early on a summer afternoon the "Chesapeake" 
went out to meet the " Shannon," which was boldly 
Hying the Hag ol St. George. 

In those days, when men-of-war, as well as all other 
ships, were sailing vessels, the tactics of naval combats 
were very different from what they are now. I-^ach ot 
the commanders ot vessels was obligeil to think, not 



235 

only of what his enemy was about, but what the wind 
was about. A steamer can take what position she 
jjleases ; she can steam far away from her enemy, or 
she can use her long-range guns, or dash down ui)on 
her to break in her sides with her ram. Bui in the 
old sailing times, maneuvers were very much more 
difficult, and if the winds ever desired to stoj) a sea 
fight, it often happened that they could do it simply 
by dying away themselves. 

The two ships sailed this way and that, each trying 
to get a position which would be good for herself and 
bad for the other ; and at last, when they were very 
close, so near that their captains might have talked 
with each other, their cannon began to speak. From 
their mouths came rolling of thunder. From each 
ship, volleys of great shot swept the decks of the 
other, while the rattle of musketry became incessant. 
This tremendous fire was kept up for nearly ten min- 
utes, and in this short time the " Chesapeake " lost 
nearly one hundred men, killed and wounded, on her 
upper deck. 

Still she had the best of the fight, for in a few 
minutes she would have taken a position in which she 
could have raked the decks of the enemy, l^iit un- 
fortunately some of her rigging was shot away, and she 
could not take advantage of the wind, and did not obey 
her helm. Nothing could be worse than this ; for, with 
sails flapping wildly in the wind, precision of sailing, 
so necessary in a sea fight, was absolutely impossible. 

But not only was the "Chesajicake" unable to take 
the position she wanted, but she could not get out 



236 

of the way, and she drifted against the " Shannon ; " 
and the rigging of the two vessels became entangled, 
with the "Chesapeake" exposed to the full fire of the 
guns of the other ship. In this case there was only 
one thing to be done, and Captain Lawrence was the 
brave man to do it. He must board the " Shannon," 
and he and his men must fight her captain and his 
men hand to hand. There was no use trying to fight 
any longer with the "Chesapeake's" cannon. 

Instantly Lawrence ordered the boarders to be called 
on deck, and he was ready to put himself at their head 
and dash on board the " Shannon." He was slightly 
wounded, but he did not care for that. But now 
came another misfortune. The man who should have 
called the boarders to action by the roll of the drum 
was not on duty, and the bugler was ordered to sound 
the call. He w^as so frightened by this awful fight 
that he ran and hid himself, and when he was pulled 
out from his retreat, he had not breath enough to blow 
his l:)ugle. Some of the men were sent below to shout 
for the boarders and call them on deck. — a very slow 
procedure at such a time; but before any of them 
arrived, the brave Lawrence was stretched upon the 
deck by a musket ball. 

The captain of the " Chesajieake " was not immedi- 
ately killed, but he was mortally wounded ; and when 
he was carried below, he showed that, near death as 
he was, he was still the bravest man on board. He 
thought nothiii- of himself, he thought only of his 
country and his sliip; ami liis last orders were, "Don't 
give uj) the shi]). l-'i-ht her till she sinks." 




But it was 
not much use 
trying to fight 
the "Shannon" any- 
longer ; there were no officers on the deck of the 
"Chesapeake," except two midshipmen, and the Brit- 
ish captain saw that he had a good chance to board 
his enemy. So his crew were soon clambering over 
the sides of the American vessel. Some wounded 
officers rushed uj:) from below to help rei:)el this attack. 
Many of the American sailors fought bravely even at 
these great odds ; but some of the crew, especially the 
Portuguese, basely deserted their comrades and hur- 
ried below. The fight on the deck of the " Chesa- 
peake " was not a long one ; and very soon the stars 
and stripes were hauled down from her masthead, and 
the British colors hoisted in their place. 

So ended the great duel between the " Chesapeake " 
and the " Shannon," and the last words of the brave 



238 

Lawrence were never forgotten. " Don't give up the 
ship " became the watchword of the navy. 

After this bloody sea fight, which lasted only fifteen 
minutes, but in which nearly two hundred and fifty 
men were killed and wounded, the " Shannon " sailed 
away for Halifax, taking with her the " Chesapeake," 
with the dead body of its brave commander on board. 
When the two vessels entered the harbor, Lawrence 
lay upon the quarter-deck, wrapped in the great flag 
of the " Chesapeake," while all the men on the Brit- 
ish vessels in the harbor manned their yards, and 
shouted a wild welcome to the victorious "Shannon." 
But the flag which floated from the masthead of the 
British frigate held no more honorable position than 
that which covered the dead body of the American 
hero. 










THE STORY OF THE TELEGRAPH AND 
THE STEAMBOAT. 

{T will always be a source of commendable pride to 
the people of New Jersey, that their State was 
never backward in the political, social, or mechanical 
progress of this country. In fact, several of the most 
important steps in great movements for popular good 
have been made upon the soil of the State. 

Among the claims to preeminence which New Jer- 
sey can make in this respect is the claim that the first 
telegraphic message that was ever transmitted through 
a wire was sent at the Iron Works at Speedwell, near 
Morristown, at which place Professor Morse and Mr. 
Vail, son of the proprietor of the works, were making 
experiments with the telegraph. The first public mes- 
sage was sent more than six years later from Wash- 
ington to Baltimore ; but the message at Speedwell 
stands first, in the point of priority, of all the dispatches 
by magnetic telegraph which the world has known. 

When Professor Morse conceived the idea of com- 
municating between distant points by means of elec- 
tricity, he was not able to carry out experiments for 
himself, and having made the acquaintance of Alfred 
\'ail, son of the proprietor or the Iron Works at Speed- 
239 



240 

well, he gave up his business as a portrait painter and 
went to Speedwell, where he and Mr. Vail worked 
hard in experimenting with the new invention. At 
last, when they thought they had brought it to such 
a point that they could make practical use of it, they 
determined to try to send a message through three 
miles of wire. If that could be done, they believed 
they could send one to any distance desirable. 

Currents of electricity had been sent through long 
lengths of wire by Mr. Morse in previous experiments, 
but in these cases nothing more was attempted than 
signals; no words or message had been sent, and the 
proposed experiment, therefore, was of great imjxir- 
tance. Its success or failure meant success or failure 
to the magnetic telegraph. 

The upper story of a house on the grounds of the 
Iron Works was one very large room, and round the 
walls of this they stretched their three miles of wire, 
until the room was encircled by lines of wire, one above 
another, but nowhere touching. At one end of this 
wire was placed a telegraphic instrument, and at the 
other, another; and with great anxiety, although with 
strong faith in the success of their work, Mr. \^iil sent 
to Mr. Morse the first real telegraphic message, which 
ran thus : "A patient waiter is no loser." 

The house in wliieh this liisl message was sent is 
still standing, near the Whippanv Ki\'er, nt)t far out of 
Morristown. Alfred Vail and Mr. Morse, assisted by 
the advice of I'rofessor Joseph Ilenrv, sujierintendent 
of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, con- 
tinued to work upon the telegraph at Speedwell ; and 



241 

as Mr. Vail furnished the capital, and did a great deal 
of the most important mechanical work, a large por- 
tion of the credit for this wonderful invention is due 
to him ; and the whole system of telegraphy which now 
encircles and animates the world may be said to have 
sprung from the Iron Works near Morristown. 

Another great invention, as important as the tele- 
graph, made its first appearance before the world in 
New Jersey. In the frozen waters about the North 
Pole, on the rivers of Africa, in the seas of China and 
Japan, on the stormy ocean about Cape Morn, and 
in almost all navigable waters of the world, are steam- 
boats and steamships, — floating palaces on rivers and 
lakes, steam yachts and great Atlantic liners, swift 
war cruisers and line-of-battle ships like floating forts 
of iron and steel ; but the first vessel which was ever 
propelled by steam paddled its way along the Delaware 
River, and was made in New Jersey. 

In 1787 John Fitch, who was a native of Connect- 
icut, but who lived at that time in Trenton, N.J., where 
he had been a clock maker and manufacturer of arms, 
constructed a boat which was moved through the water 
by means of a steam engine on board. He had long 
been working on this invention, making experiments, 
and endeavoring to obtain assistance from people with 
money. He had applied to Congress to give him the 
exclusive right to the great results of his work if he 
should be successful ; but this aid was refused. 

New Jersey, Delaware, and Penn.sylvania, however, 
gave him the right for fourteen years to propel vessels 
upon the waters of those States ; and thus encouraged 

STO. OK N.J. — 16 



242 

he built the first steamboat. This little vessel was im- 
perfect in many ways, and its highest speed was four 
miles an hour; but still it was a steam- 
boat, and it was the first that man had 
ever seen. Of course, it at- 
vf'U.-'^ W"'- k rP^ ^ tractcd a good deal 

^'■''M^M^-:'^^'>^:i^W^i^^^^^i^^' of attention; and 

'^ -. , . ^---^ __- _^_=^-=. ,w^ " proved that it could 

,..'^=^<(T» //; ^, ;, ,, ~, move without sails or 

^^"^^W/^ -^"' ,: [y^s^: ;J^F':>- - oars, and that it was 

^>^^^ not dangerous, peo- 




:^'n'-^i 



■^ 'M^^S' ^^^^ -"Ar^'^'^v^'"^- pie began to believe in it, 
•:^^!YA■^||(^^^»^:^'^ (^ ' and a steamboat company was organ- 
,- J^''^ ized by Fitch. Another boat was built, 

which carried passengers who paid their fare, 
and afterwards a larger boat was constructed, in the 
hope that a good passenger traffic might be established. 
We cannot wonder that there should have been a 
desire among enterprising people to establish some bet- 
ter method of transportation in travel than existed in 
the early days of New Jersey. At first the only roads 
in the State were narrow paths, sometimes more than 
fifty miles long, but only wide enough for the easy 
passage of a man on horseback. After that, better 
roads gradually came into use ; and in the beginning 
of the eighteenth century there was a "stage wagon," 
intended for the carriage of merchandise, not passen- 
gers, which made a trip every two weeks from Perth 
Amboy to Philadelphia. This was considered as a 
great jjublic convenience ; because, before that, there 



243 

was no regular mcthcxl of shipping merchandise from 
New York to Philadelphia, except by sea. 

After a time, stage wagons, which carried passen- 
gers, began to run in some parts of New Jersey ; and 
in 1750 a grand stage line was established, intended 
especially for the transportation of travelers. In an 
advertisement the proprietor of this line announced 
to all persons " who have occasion to transport them- 
selves, goods, stores, or merchandise from New York to 
Philadelphia," that he would take them in "forty-eight 
hours less than by any other line," and he promised 
to "use the people in the best manner." It is stated 
that this trip by land and water between. New York and 
Philadelphia lasted seven or eight days, although it 
now seems almost impossible to travel so slowly. 

Sixteen years afterward, a new and improved line 
of stage wagons was established, which were faster 
and very much more comfortable than any which had 
yet been known. They were actually mounted on 
springs, and it was promised that the trip would be 
made in two days in summer, and three days in win- 
ter. These stagecoaches were so much swifter than 
anything else of the kind ever known in the State, 
that they were called "flying machines." 

P^ifteen years afterward, the price of conveyance 
between New York and Philadelphia on one of these 
"flying machines" was forty shillings in gold or sil- 
ver for each passenger, and as much for each hun- 
dred and fifty pounds of baggage. 

The mail facilities in those days were as poor as 
the methods for transi)ortati()n ; and we can get an 



244 

idea of the postal arrangements from an extract from 
a New York paper published in 1704, which states, 
" In the pleasant month of May, the last storm put 
our Pennsylvania post a week behind, and has not yet 
com'd in." But although this was rather slow com- 
munication, New Jersey was better off than many of 
the civilized communities of the day ; for she had a 
reguhir postal system, which had been invented by 
Colonel John Hamilton. 

Colonel Hamilton's system was considered so good, 
that the British Government gave him a patent for it, 
and adopted it for the mother country, it being con- 
sidered much better than the system then in use. 
The mails were generally carried in canvas bags by 
men on horseback; and this method of transportation 
was known as the "express," as a horse and his rider 
could go much more rapidly than even the best " fly- 
ing machines." Mail service in New Jersey greatly 
improved before the end of the centuiy. 

But it was very hard to persuade the public to en- 
courage Fitch's new enterprise, even although it pvom- 
ised cheaper and more rapid transportation than any 
methods in use ; and of course it was still harder, 
from the fact that the new steamboats had not yet 
gone faster than a sailing vessel with a good breeze. 
And so, notwithstanding the value of a system of navi- 
gation by which vessels could be made to move whether 
there was a breeze or not, and in any direction no 
matter how the wind was blowing, there was very lit- 
tle support to the new steamboat, and the enterprise 
was so unprofitable that it was given up. 



245 

Nearly ten years after Fitch's largest steamboat had 
been sold as a piece of useless property, Robert Ful- 
ton made a steamboat which ran on the Hudson River 
at the rate of five miles an hour ; and after this the 
practicability of steam navigation began to be slowly 
acknowledged. But the waters of New Jersey were 
the first which were ever ruffled by the paddles of a 
steamboat. 

New Jersey has another claim to distinction in con- 
nection with steam navigation, for at the Speedwell 
Iron Works were manufactured some of the larger 
portions of the machinery of the "Savannah," the 
first steamship which ever crossed the ocean. 



iilC'Ff ^ ^ 







NEW JERSEY AND THE LAND OF GOLD. 

THERE was another famous American sailor who 
came out of New Jersey, who was perhaps of as 
much value to his country as any other naval com- 
mander, although he was not the hero of any great 
sea fights. 

This was Robert F. Stockton, who was born in 
Princeton, and who entered the navy early in life. 
He became an excellent officer and a great fighter. 
His disposition to do battle showed itself not only in 
leading men into action, but in doing a great deal of 
fighting himself. He distinguished himself in several 
naval combats during the war with Algiers. He com- 
manded the "Spitfire" during this war, and, besides 
taking one of the enemy's vessels in an ordinary naval 
combat, he captured an Algerine brig, one might almost 
say, with his own hands. With as many men as a 
small boat could carry, he left his vessel, rowed to this 
brig, and at the head of his bold sailors boarded her, 
vanquished the crew, and carried her off as a prize. 

He was afterwards transferred to a larger vessel, 

and was stationed for a time at Gibraltar. There was 

a very bad feeling at that time between the American 

naval officers and those of Great Britain. The War 

246 



•247 

of 1812 was over; but the British were not incHned 
to treat the officers of the United States Navy with 
the respect which the latter thought was due to them. 
Stockton was not a man to stand still and allow him- 
self to be treated disrespectfully; and whenever he 
received anything that seemed like an insult from a 
British officer, he was ready to fight that officer, who- 
ever he might be. It is said that at one time he 
challenged all the officers in Gibraltar to meet him in 
single combat, one after another, and he actually did 
engage in duels with several of them. 

During the British war and the Algerine war, Stock- 
ton distinguished himself in various ways, both on 
land and sea. But in 1821 he undertook a very im- 
portant enterprise in Africa. Many naval vessels had 
gone from the United States to Africa, but none of 
them on an errand such as this. Our gallant Jersey 
captain did not sail to pay tribute, bombard cities, sink 
vessels, humble African potentates, or to shed African 
blood ; he went on an errand of charity and humanity. 

He sailed from America in the interests of the 
Colonization Society, and his object was to make 
arrangements on the west coast of Africa for the 
establishment of a colony, to be composed of negroes 
who had been slaves in the United States, but who 
had obtained their freedom. There were many humane 
people in the United States who believed that the 
negroes who had been set free from slavery would be 
much happier and more likely to prosper in their 
native land, or in the land of their ancestors, than in 
the United States. 



248 

In company with an agent of this society, Stockton 
sailed for the west coast of Africa in command of an 
armed schooner called the "Alligator;" and when he 
arrived at his destination, he took upon himself nearly 
all the difficult work of selecting territory suitable for 
the purposes desired, of buying land from the savage 
natives, of making them understand the character of 
the settlers who were coming to Africa and of the 
powerful nation who intended to protect them. He 
made treaties of commerce and friendship with the 
ignorant Africans, who, until he came, scarcely knew 
what was meant by a treaty. 

The performance of these complicated and difficult 
duties required a man of courage and diplomatic ability, 
who could take things as they came, and who was 
always ready to act promptly in sudden emergencies. 
Stockton proved himself to be that man, and he estab- 
lished in the native land of the negro a country to 
which the Africans who had once been slaves in the 
United States might freely go, carrying with them all 
that they had learned of civilization in this country, 
and where they might live without fear of reenslave- 
ment by the warlike tribes, whose princii)al business 
in life then was to cai)ture their fellow-countrymen, 
and sell them into slavery. 

This new country, which was called Liberia, was at 
first a colony of the United States. It grew and pros- 
pered, and in 1H47 it became an independent nation, 
and soon after was recognized as such by Great Brit- 
ain and the United States ; and since then it has 
made treaties with most of the luuopean countries. 



249 

Thus was established the new nation of Liberia, and 
it is not likely that there was a man in the United 
States who could have accomplished this great work 
better than the fighting sailor from Princeton. 

After having finished the Liberian business on land, 
Stockton did some work at sea more in the line of a 
naval commander. While sailing along the coast, the 
"Alligator" was sighted by a Portuguese war vessel, 
the " Marianna Flora," who mistook her for a pirate, 
and determined to capture her. But when the " Mari- 
anna " got near enough, and opened fire on the 
supposed pirate, she found that the work she had 
undertaken was very different from what she had ex- 
pected. To speak figuratively, the " Alligator " lashed 
her tail, opened her jaws, and began to fight with such 
fury, that in twenty minutes the "Marianna" was 
beaten and captured. Stockton put her under the 
command of one of his own officers with an American 
crew, and sent her away as a prize to America. 

The government of Portugal, when it heard what 
had happened, declared, that, as their country and the 
United States were not at war, our Jersey sailor had 
no right to take one of their vessels ; but, as it was 
asserted on the other side that one of their vessels 
had first tried to take his, there seemed to be a good 
deal of justice in what had been done. However, the 
matter was settled by his exoneration from all blame 
in the matter, and the return of the "Marianna" to 
Portugal. 

Some time later, the "Alligator" fell in with a 
French slave ship and captured her ; and it is staled 



250 

that the legal proceedings which followed this capture 
established the point of international law, that war 
vessels of all nations have a perfect right to capture 
a slave ship, wherever it may be found. This- was 
the first step in the work of breaking up the slave 
trade, which was then carried on by many of the 
civilized nations of the world. 

In later cruises, Stockton sailed about in the West 
Indies, capturing several slavers, and also making a 
vigorous war on pirates and freebooters, who at that 
time made the vicinity of these islands very dangerous 
for peaceable vessels. 

In 1838 our commander was made a captain. There 
was no war now in which he might engage, but his 
mind was very busily occupied in regard to the proper 
construction of war vessels. In 1841 the United States 
Navy did not possess a single steamship. They were 
all old-style sailing vessels. Several steamers had been 
planned : one had blown up, and two others were still 
on the stocks. But Captain Stockton did not believe 
that if these were finished they would be effective as 
vessels of war. One great reason for this was the 
fact that their engines were situated so near the uj^tper 
deck, that a shot from an enemy might easily destroy 
them, and so render the vessel worthless. Another 
objection was that they were side-whcelcrs, and it 
would be a very easy thing for a cannon ball to knock 
an exposed side-wheel into a worthless condition. 

Stockton's idea was to put the engines and machin- 
ery deep down in the vessel, below the water line, 
where it would be almost impossible to injure them. 



251 

and to have the ship moved by means of a submerged 
screw in the stern, instead of by paddle wheels. The 
naval constructors and authorities opposed this new- 
fangled scheme ; but our New Jersey sailor was an 
energetic man in whatever he had to do, and he fought 
the naval constructors as vigorously as he ever fought a 
pirate. Consequently he got authority from Congress 
to build a war ship after his own plan, and arm it 
with cannon, which he thought would be much better 
than the guns then in use in the navy. 

Under Stockton's directions, there was built at Phila- 
delphia a vessel of war, which he named the " Prince- 
ton," and which was constructed according to his 
plans. On her deck were two great guns of wrought 
iron, which were also devised by him ; and each of 
these carried a two hundred and twenty-five pound 
shot, — much heavier than those then used in naval 
warfare. 

Great public interest was excited in the " Princeton," 
the first steamship of our navy, and on her trial trip 
she was found to be an excellent seagoing vessel. 
She went to Washington, and there started out on an 
excursion, during which her great guns were to be 
tried. There was a very distinguished company on 
board, — officers of the army and navy, and several 
members of the Cabinet, and other guests. 

It was found, however, that the ship was much supe- 
rior to her great guns ; for when one of them, named 
the " Peacemaker," was fired, it ex])loded, killing sev- 
eral people, among whom were the secretary of war, 
the secretary of the navy, and the father-in-law of 



252 

the President ; while others, including Captain Stock- 
ton, were wounded. 

This terrible event shocked the whole nation ; but 
although there were no more wrought-iron cannon 
made, the building of naval steamships, which began 
with Stockton's " Princeton," went steadily on, growing 
and improving, until it reached the high point shown 
by the swift and powerful ironclad men-of-war which 
now fly the stars and stripes. 

In 1846 Stockton found himself on the coast of 
California, with the rank of commodore, and in com- 
mand of a squadron. Since he had started from the 
United States, war had been declared with Mexico; 
and when he arrived, the towns of Monterey and San 
Francisco had been taken by Commodore Sloat, who 
had preceded him. A state of war exactly suited 
Stockton's disposition ; and as there was no more im- 
mediate need of fighting on the seacoast, he organ- 
ized a little army of marines and sailors from his 
ships, which was afterwards joined by a body of 
adventurers and hunters of the United States, and 
also by Lieutenant-Colonel P^remont, an officer of the 
United States Army, who had been sent into that 
region to explore llie country, and who had already 
done some fighting with the little liand uiulcr his 
command. 

Los Angeles, the Mexican capital of California, was 
attacked and taken. Commodore Stockton now de- 
clared himself the concjueror of California, and organ- 
ized a provisional government for the cajitured territory, 
ai)i)oiiiting John C. P'rciiiont as governor. 



253 




At the same lime, however, there was another Jer- 
seyman in the field intent upon the capture of Cali- 
fornia. This was General Stei)hen Kearney, an army 
officer who had made a wonderful march across the 
plains and mountains towards the coast. After he 
arrived on the scene, there were several battles with 
the Mexican forces and with the Indians ; but the con- 
test ended in a complete victory for the land forces 
commanded by Kearney from Newark, and the naval 
forces by Stockton from Princeton, under whom Fre- 
mont held his position. 

But now arose a dispute between the ^^eneral and 
the commodore. When Kearney arrived at Los An- 



254 

geles, he would not recognize the authority of Fre- 
mont, who had been appointed governor by Stockton, 
because he considered that an army officer is higher 
in rank than one in the navy ; and he took the gov- 
ernorship himself. A court-martial was convened for 
the purpose of deciding the question, and it was set- 
tled that Kearney was of the higher rank, and he 
therefore retained the governorship. But between the 
two Jerseymen the United States obtained the land 
of gold. 

A year or two after this. Commodore Stockton re- 
signed from the navy, and subsequently went to Con- 
gress as a senator from New Jersey. But although 
no longer in the navy, he did not cease to work for 
the benefit of the brave sailors he had so often com- 
manded and led ; and he obtained the passage of a bill 
abolishing the punishment of flogging in the navy, thus 
adding another great gift to his country and civilization. 

When the country which had been captured from 
Mexico was discovered to be not only a fertile and 
pleasant land, but a land filled with rich treasures of 
gold, the true value of the gift made to the United 
States by our two Jerseymen became known and ap- 
preciated ; and the names of Stockton and Kearney, 
with that of the brave Fremont, will ever be asso- 
ciated with that State whose principal water portal is 
well called the " Golden Gate." 



Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Norwood, Mass. 



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